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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bound — tied together
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bound — obliged
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. game — a match
  15. rash — a series
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fine — high quality
  22. bound — certain
  23. game — wild animals
  24. scale — in music

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