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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pop — to visit
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. saw — the tool
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pop — soda
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. net — after costs
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. pop — music
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. scale — size or range
  19. kid — child
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. scale — in music
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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