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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bound — certain
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bound — tied together
  6. face — part of the head
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. hand — help
  16. mate — a friend
  17. face — to confront
  18. tear — from crying
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bound — obliged
  23. hand — in cards
  24. face — to point toward

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