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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. face — part of the head
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — to tease
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. ground — the earth
  13. face — to point toward
  14. fork — in a road
  15. rock — music
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. snap — to click
  18. row — a line
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. face — to confront
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rock — a stone

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