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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. object — a thing
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. object — to protest
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kid — to tease
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chair — a leader
  15. kid — child
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. saw — the tool
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. game — a match
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. object — an aim

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