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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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 skill
  3. game — wild animals
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. rule — government
  6. game — a match
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bound — certain
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bound — obliged
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. craft — boats
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rule — a law
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. last — finally
  23. kick — in football
  24. rule — to rule out

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