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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. spell — letters
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. land — ground
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. spell — magic
  13. foot — a measure
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. snap — to click
  17. land — a country
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. land — to come down
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bowl — a football final

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