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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. tube — the underground
  3. fine — high quality
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. kid — child
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. date — the fruit
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. tube — a container
  17. fine — all right
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. fork — in a road
  24. sharp — with an edge

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