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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stock — shares
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mug — a face
  6. kid — child
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mug — to rob
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mug — a cup
  17. stock — goods
  18. tube — a container
  19. bound — tied together
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. chair — a leader

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