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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. land — to come down
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. pound — a weight
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. land — a country
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kid — child
  16. rule — a law
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rule — government
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. land — ground

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