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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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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mine — for digging
  8. land — to come down
  9. file — a document
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fine — high quality
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. file — a tool
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — to lash out

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