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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 120 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 came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. land — ground
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — child
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. pit — in a race
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. land — a country
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — to come down
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pit — a hole

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