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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. hand — help
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bound — tied together
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bound — certain
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. deal — to handle
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pound — a weight
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bound — obliged
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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