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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bound — tied together
  6. field — a subject
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bound — obliged
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. field — for sport
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bound — certain
  16. last — to go on
  17. field — farmland
  18. kid — child

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