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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bound — obliged
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. swing — to play on
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — certain
  9. object — an aim
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cell — a phone
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. cell — in biology
  14. swing — music
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. object — a thing
  19. swing — in golf
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. kid — child
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. kid — to tease

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