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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bound — tied together
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bear — the animal
  10. ball — a great time
  11. field — a subject
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bound — certain
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — farmland
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wake — a trail
  20. field — for sport
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cell — a phone

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