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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bound — certain
  3. board — a committee
  4. root — the cause
  5. land — ground
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bound — obliged
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. hand — help
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. board — to get on
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bound — tied together
  21. land — a country
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. calf — a young animal

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