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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 120 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. last — final
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ground — a position
  12. bound — obliged
  13. saw — the tool
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bound — tied together
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. saw — the tool
  19. club — a group
  20. chip — for betting
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. chip — to eat
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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