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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. scale — in music
  3. roll — a list
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. spring — the season
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rule — government
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pit — a hole
  17. rule — a law
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. kid — child
  20. fork — in a road
  21. roll — a cake
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — of water

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