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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — to come down
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. land — a country
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. file — a line of people
  11. row — a line
  12. file — a tool
  13. row — to paddle
  14. track — a path
  15. bore — to drill
  16. file — a document
  17. track — a song
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. land — ground
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. date — the fruit
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bore — to tire
  24. track — to keep track

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