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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. cap — of ice
  4. kid — to tease
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. land — a country
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — a hat
  10. land — ground
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. march — music
  16. season — in sport
  17. march — the month
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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