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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. land — ground
  3. squash — the sport
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. fine — all right
  6. band — a ring
  7. land — to come down
  8. pit — in a race
  9. file — a line of people
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. file — a tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. fine — high quality
  15. band — a music group
  16. land — a country
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. file — a document
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pit — a hole
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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