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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. present — a gift
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pop — soda
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. present — there
  11. field — farmland
  12. pop — music
  13. field — for sport
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. file — a document
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. pop — to visit
  19. kid — child
  20. file — a tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. hand — help

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