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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. bear — the animal
  4. row — a line
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bear — the animal
  10. track — a song
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mine — for digging
  14. kid — child
  15. swing — in golf
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. track — a path
  18. chip — to eat
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. sharp — clever
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. chip — for betting

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