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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. mine — for digging
  5. date — the fruit
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. row — a line
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. kid — child
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pass — a permit
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. row — to paddle
  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