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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pit — in a race
  14. perch — the fish
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bass — low music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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