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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 124 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — obliged
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. land — to come down
  5. scale — size or range
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kid — to tease
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. land — a country
  16. dip — to sink
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bound — tied together
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. scale — in music
  21. kid — child
  22. land — ground
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chest — of your body

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