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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — music
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. fork — in a road
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rock — a stone
  10. kid — child
  11. bound — obliged
  12. race — the arms race
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. dip — to sink
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. saw — the tool

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