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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. kid — child
  4. mug — to rob
  5. roll — a cake
  6. game — a match
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. game — wild animals
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. date — the fruit
  12. roll — a list
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rule — a law
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. mug — a cup
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. vault — a safe
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rule — government

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