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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bound — obliged
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — an aim
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cap — of ice
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cap — a lid
  24. object — to protest

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