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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mine — for digging
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mug — to rob
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. kid — child
  22. fork — in a road
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mug — a cup

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