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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. land — to come down
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bore — to tire
  16. ball — a dance
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bore — to drill
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. land — ground
  22. bulb — for light
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wind — moving air

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