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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. kid — child
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. game — a match
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. ground — a position
  8. mate — to breed
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. ground — crushed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a hole
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. mate — a friend
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. game — wild animals
  24. ground — the earth

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