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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · kid · drill · file · chair · stick

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. file — a document
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. file — a tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. bound — obliged
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — tied together
  12. chair — a leader
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. drill — a practice
  17. file — a line of people
  18. drill — the tool

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