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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cue — a hint
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — certain
  8. present — there
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. game — a match
  12. kid — child
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bore — to tire
  15. game — wild animals
  16. ground — the earth
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — a gift
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. ground — a position
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cue — a signal
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cold — an illness

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