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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bass — low music
  3. kid — child
  4. bound — certain
  5. present — a gift
  6. bound — obliged
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bass — the fish
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. present — the time now
  18. tear — from crying
  19. present — there
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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