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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — to tease
  4. last — to go on
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. swing — music
  8. present — a gift
  9. mine — for digging
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pass — a permit
  12. present — the time now
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. swing — to play on
  15. kid — child
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. present — there
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. trunk — of a car

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