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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bound — certain
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. snap — to click
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. staff — employees
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. staff — employees
  21. bound — obliged
  22. spring — the season
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bound — tied together

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