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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. date — the fruit
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spring — the season
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. spring — of water
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kick — in football
  12. chip — to eat
  13. rash — a series
  14. field — a subject
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. field — for sport
  21. spring — a coil
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. field — farmland

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