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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. kid — child
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bore — to drill
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. season — in sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a tool
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bore — to tire
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. file — a document
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. season — of the year
  24. bound — certain

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