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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. last — final
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. kid — child
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bound — certain
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bound — tied together
  22. court — of a king
  23. last — finally
  24. temple — a place of worship

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