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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. mug — a face
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. last — final
  14. game — a match
  15. last — finally
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mine — for digging
  18. last — to go on
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mug — a cup
  24. game — a kind of play

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