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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bound — certain
  4. club — for dancing
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. craft — boats
  7. kid — to tease
  8. lie — to recline
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pitch — completely
  11. land — ground
  12. club — for golf
  13. cell — a phone
  14. kid — child
  15. bound — obliged
  16. club — a group
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cell — in biology
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. land — a country
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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