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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bound — certain
  4. snap — to click
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bound — tied together
  8. present — there
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. present — the time now
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. game — wild animals
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bound — obliged
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. present — a gift

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