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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 · mouse · kid · jam · bat · last

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bound — tied together
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. last — final
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bound — certain
  18. jam — in traffic

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