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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pop — soda
  6. bound — certain
  7. mate — a friend
  8. kid — to tease
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kid — child
  16. pop — music
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bound — obliged
  20. land — a country
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bound — tied together

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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