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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 124 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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitch — completely
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. fine — high quality
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. spring — the season
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. scale — size or range
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. scale — in music
  22. spring — of water
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kid — child

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