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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. can — a tin
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. last — finally
  10. fork — in a road
  11. face — to point toward
  12. last — final
  13. kid — to tease
  14. last — to go on
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. can — a tin
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. can — to be able to

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