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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. land — ground
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. swing — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. net — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. net — for catching
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. net — after costs

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