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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bound — certain
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. hand — help
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cold — not warm
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bound — tied together
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cue — a signal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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