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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. land — to come down
  6. board — to get on
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. land — a country
  12. board — a committee
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kid — to tease
  15. present — there
  16. prune — to trim
  17. sharp — clever
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. present — a gift
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. present — the time 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