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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. file — a tool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. file — a line of people
  10. land — a country
  11. fork — in a road
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. file — a document
  16. pound — a weight
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. kid — child
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. kid — to tease
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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