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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. kid — child
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — for digging
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. craft — a skill
  8. current — of water
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. deal — to handle
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — to tease
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. court — of law
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. current — electric
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ground — a position
  21. court — of a king
  22. craft — boats
  23. court — for sport
  24. current — happening now

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