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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. roll — a list
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. can — a tin
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — to tease
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. fork — in a road
  16. can — to be able to
  17. game — wild animals
  18. can — a tin
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. rest — a break
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. game — a match
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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