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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. club — for dancing
  3. plane — a tool
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pit — in a race
  6. land — a country
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. club — for golf
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. saw — the tool
  13. land — ground
  14. pit — a hole
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. saw — the tool
  17. club — a group
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. kid — child
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. land — to come down
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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