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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — obliged
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bound — tied together
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. file — a line of people
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chair — a leader
  16. plane — a tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. file — a document
  20. snap — to click
  21. file — a tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. kid — child

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