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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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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hand — help
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ground — crushed
  10. court — for sport
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ground — a position
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — child
  18. pit — in a race
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fork — a garden tool

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