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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fine — all right
  3. bound — tied together
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bound — certain
  7. fine — high quality
  8. lie — to recline
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. craft — boats
  22. bound — obliged
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. craft — a skill

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