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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mug — to rob
  3. game — a match
  4. kid — to tease
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fine — all right
  11. mug — a face
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mug — a cup
  14. kid — child
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. craft — boats
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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