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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. charge — in control
  3. bound — certain
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bound — obliged
  6. firm — steady
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. drill — a practice
  11. firm — a company
  12. charge — electricity
  13. firm — decided
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bound — tied together
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. charge — a price
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — not warm
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bat — for baseball

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