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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rule — a law
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rule — government
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. kid — child
  15. deal — to handle
  16. kid — to tease
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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