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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mug — a cup
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. land — a country
  12. kid — child
  13. ground — a position
  14. land — to come down
  15. chair — a leader
  16. land — ground
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fork — in a road
  19. mug — to rob
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ground — the earth
  23. perch — the fish
  24. fork — a garden tool

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