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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kid — child
  4. spell — letters
  5. bound — obliged
  6. charge — electricity
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spell — magic
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. charge — a price
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chair — a leader
  19. charge — in control
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bound — tied together
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. spell — a short time
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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