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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. present — there
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bound — certain
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bound — tied together
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. craft — a skill
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kid — child
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bound — obliged

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