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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 116 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. last — final
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — a hole
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ground — a position
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. kid — child
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pit — in a race
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. last — finally
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. last — to go on
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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