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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. scale — in music
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spring — of water
  7. kid — child
  8. bound — certain
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a skill
  12. chair — a leader
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tube — a container
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. scale — size or range
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — the season
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. kid — to tease
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bound — obliged

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