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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bound — obliged
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kid — child
  7. pitch — completely
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. kid — to tease
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mine — belonging to me

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