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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bound — obliged
  3. rush — hurry
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. track — a path
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. capital — a city
  9. track — a song
  10. press — a publisher
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. present — the time now
  16. press — newspapers
  17. track — to keep track
  18. present — there
  19. capital — money
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. present — a gift
  22. press — to push
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bound — certain

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