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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. present — there
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. row — a line
  7. wound — an injury
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — a gift
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cell — in biology
  17. band — a ring
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cell — a phone
  20. kid — child
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — certain
  24. rush — to hurry

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