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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. game — a match
  4. pound — a weight
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bear — the animal
  10. sharp — clever
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cell — in biology
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bear — the animal
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. shower — rain

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