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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. race — the arms race
  7. kid — child
  8. race — humankind
  9. game — a match
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bear — the animal
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bound — certain
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. race — a contest
  19. net — for catching
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bound — tied together
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. stand — on your feet

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