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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. season — of the year
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. season — in sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ball — a dance
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. ground — a position
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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