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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. mine — for digging
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — a match
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. row — to paddle
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fine — high quality
  22. row — a line
  23. fine — all right
  24. wound — an injury

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