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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: mine · sharp · row · object · fine · last · tear · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. row — to paddle
  6. last — to go on
  7. row — a line
  8. fine — high quality
  9. object — to protest
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mine — for digging
  14. last — final
  15. fine — all right
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. last — finally
  18. tear — from crying
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. tear — from crying
  21. object — an aim
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. object — a thing
  24. tear — to rip

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