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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rest — what's left
  4. kid — child
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. can — to be able to
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ground — a position
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mine — for digging
  15. can — a tin
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ball — a great time
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. can — a tin
  21. hand — help
  22. rest — a break
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ground — the earth

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