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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bound — certain
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bound — tied together
  18. kid — child
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — a leader
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. pound — a weight
  23. chest — a box
  24. bound — obliged

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