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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. kid — to tease
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pound — a weight
  7. band — a ring
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ball — a great time
  11. chair — a leader
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. sharp — clever
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. band — a music group
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. date — the fruit
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. ball — a dance

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