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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. land — a country
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — ground
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. mate — a friend
  12. land — to come down
  13. snap — to click
  14. kid — child
  15. pitch — completely
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. net — after costs
  24. scale — in music

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