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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pop — music
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. net — after costs
  5. mug — to rob
  6. fine — all right
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mug — a cup
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — the season
  12. mug — a face
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. spring — a coil
  15. net — for catching
  16. cap — a lid
  17. spring — of water
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cap — of ice
  21. kid — child
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. fine — high quality
  24. net — in sport

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