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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. chip — to eat
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — child
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pitch — completely
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. net — in sport
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. key — in music
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kid — to tease
  22. net — for catching
  23. key — for a lock
  24. file — a tool

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