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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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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. kid — child
  3. object — a thing
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. land — ground
  6. pop — soda
  7. land — a country
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pop — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pop — to visit
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spell — letters
  17. kid — to tease
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — to protest
  22. spell — a short time
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. spell — magic

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