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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · wound · firm · kid · bat · face · spell · mouse

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bear — the animal
  9. firm — decided
  10. spell — magic
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bear — the animal
  17. face — to point toward
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. firm — a company
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. firm — steady
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com