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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bound — certain
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. clip — a video
  16. mate — to breed
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pit — in a race
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mate — a partner
  23. kid — child
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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