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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · saw · kid · mate · pit · root · mine · cell

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. kid — child
  5. mate — a partner
  6. root — of a word
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pit — a hole
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pit — in a race
  20. rash — a series
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. mate — to breed
  24. saw — the tool

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