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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bound — obliged
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. march — music
  5. mine — for digging
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — tied together
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. march — the month
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bound — certain
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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