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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.

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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: craft · kid · swing · tear · march · ground · mug · saw

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kid — child
  7. tear — from crying
  8. swing — in golf
  9. kid — to tease
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — boats
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mug — to rob
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. craft — a skill
  19. march — the month
  20. mug — a face
  21. march — music
  22. mug — a cup
  23. march — the month
  24. ground — a position

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