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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. kid — to tease
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bore — to drill
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. file — a document
  14. kid — child
  15. face — to point toward
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bore — to tire
  21. file — a tool
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. file — a line of people

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