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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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. land — a country
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. last — final
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. last — finally
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. last — to go on
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. track — a song
  15. kid — child
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. mine — for digging
  20. track — a path
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mine — an explosive

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