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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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Word bank
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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: kick · roll · game · mug · jam · kid · bound · tear

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. mug — a face
  3. kid — child
  4. roll — a cake
  5. mug — to rob
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mug — a cup
  11. kick — in football
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. tear — from crying
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bound — certain
  21. tear — from crying
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. roll — a list
  24. game — a kind of play

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