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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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bound — certain
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. court — of a king
  7. snap — to click
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — a container
  11. bound — tied together
  12. court — of law
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. drill — army training
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. kid — child
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. drill — the tool
  24. net — in sport

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