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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. net — after costs
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kid — to tease
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wound — an injury
  8. board — a committee
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bound — certain
  12. band — a ring
  13. net — for catching
  14. kid — child
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. band — a music group
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bound — obliged
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. net — in sport
  23. board — to get on
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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