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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. deal — to handle
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pop — soda
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pop — music
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. kid — child
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pop — to visit
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. kid — to tease
  19. roll — a cake
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. game — a match
  23. fork — in a road
  24. deal — an agreement

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