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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 124 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. roll — a cake
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cap — a hat
  5. foot — a measure
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. cap — a lid
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cap — of ice
  12. land — a country
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. fine — all right
  17. roll — a list
  18. land — ground

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