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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  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. mouse — the animal
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fine — all right
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. chest — a box
  8. bound — certain
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chest — of your body
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. fine — high quality
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — the cause
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bound — obliged
  22. root — of a plant
  23. racket — for tennis
  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