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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — tied together
  6. chest — a box
  7. capital — money
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. chest — of your body
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fine — all right
  12. net — for catching
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fine — high quality
  15. net — in sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kid — child
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bound — certain
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. net — after costs

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