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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bear — the animal
  3. date — the fruit
  4. stand — to bear
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. tube — a container
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. game — a match
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. game — wild animals

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