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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. dip — to sink
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. suit — to fit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bat — the animal
  15. root — the cause
  16. suit — clothes
  17. tear — to rip
  18. root — of a word
  19. bound — obliged
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bound — certain
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bat — in an idiom

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