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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bound — certain
  3. ground — a position
  4. land — a country
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cue — a signal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cue — for pool
  12. land — ground
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cue — a hint
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. land — to come down
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cell — in a prison

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