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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.

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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. rule — government
  5. chair — a leader
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bound — tied together
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fork — in a road
  11. kid — child
  12. hand — help
  13. toast — bread
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. rule — a law
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bound — certain
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bound — obliged
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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