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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. track — a path
  6. lie — to recline
  7. track — a song
  8. chip — for betting
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bark — to shout
  12. perch — the fish
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. kid — child

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