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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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: mine · mug · bear · cap · craft · hand · kid · row

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cap — a lid
  6. craft — a skill
  7. kid — child
  8. bear — the animal
  9. hand — help
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. row — a line
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mine — for digging
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bear — the animal
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mug — a face
  20. cap — a hat
  21. craft — boats
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mug — a cup

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