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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bank — for money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kid — to tease
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. face — to confront
  10. fine — all right
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hand — help
  13. bank — of a river
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. face — part of the head
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bank — for money
  21. fine — high quality
  22. face — to point toward
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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