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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. object — to protest
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — child
  8. ground — a position
  9. kid — to tease
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. object — a thing
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mine — for digging
  19. object — an aim
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — tied together
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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