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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. swing — to play on
  7. court — of law
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. fork — in a road
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. court — for sport
  16. bore — to tire
  17. kid — to tease
  18. court — of a king
  19. swing — music
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. swing — in golf
  23. land — to come down
  24. band — a ring

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