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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bound — certain
  3. track — to keep track
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. track — a song
  6. rest — what's left
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bound — obliged
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fork — in a road
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. track — a path
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bound — tied together
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rest — a break
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kid — to tease
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. hand — help

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