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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cell — a phone
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. tube — the underground
  5. game — wild animals
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. game — a match
  8. swing — to play on
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. fine — all right
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mate — a friend
  13. tube — a container
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. swing — music
  16. fine — high quality
  17. lie — to recline
  18. mate — to breed
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kid — to tease
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mate — a partner

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