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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. face — to confront
  3. bound — tied together
  4. kid — to tease
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. game — a match
  8. press — to push
  9. game — wild animals
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. face — to point toward
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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