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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 120 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. game — wild animals
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cold — not warm
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. game — a match
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kid — child
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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