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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. last — finally
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spring — of water
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. spring — the season
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. kid — to tease
  18. last — to go on
  19. rash — a series
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bound — obliged
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. last — final
  24. snap — to click

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