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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 116 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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. stock — shares
  5. row — a line
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. present — there
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fork — in a road
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kid — to tease
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. land — a country
  18. fine — all right
  19. game — a match
  20. kid — child
  21. present — a gift
  22. stock — goods
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. present — the time now

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