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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — to tease
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — newspapers
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bound — certain
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — child
  14. bound — tied together
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. press — to push
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fall — the season
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fall — to drop

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