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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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Word bank
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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fine — high quality
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ground — the earth
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. ground — a position
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. land — to come down
  12. game — a match
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. land — a country
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. kid — child
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kick — in football

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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