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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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cue — a signal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bound — tied together
  7. squash — the sport
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bound — certain
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kid — child
  13. hand — help
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cue — for pool
  24. date — on the calendar

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