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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tube — the underground
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. land — a country
  7. row — a line
  8. saw — the tool
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. lie — to recline
  12. kid — child
  13. row — to paddle
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fine — all right
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tube — a container
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. saw — the tool
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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