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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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — tied together
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. kid — child
  7. shower — to wash
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bound — certain
  10. spell — a short time
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — letters
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — help
  15. shower — rain
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spell — magic
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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