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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. hand — in cards
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fall — the season
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cold — not warm
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. can — to be able to
  23. kid — child
  24. hand — help

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