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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. drill — the tool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. craft — boats
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cold — not warm
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bound — certain
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bound — tied together
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. drill — army training
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bound — obliged
  24. fan — to cool the air

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