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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cell — a phone
  4. drill — army training
  5. chair — a leader
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fine — all right
  8. band — a ring
  9. bore — to tire
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. kid — child
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. band — a music group
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fine — high quality
  20. drill — a practice
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cell — in a prison

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