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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. chair — a leader
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bound — certain
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cue — for pool
  10. bound — obliged
  11. hand — in cards
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. net — after costs
  18. bound — tied together
  19. band — a music group
  20. cue — a signal
  21. kid — child
  22. cue — a hint
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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