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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 120 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: face · mate · cabinet · drill · snap · cell · kid · bound

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. face — part of the head
  4. drill — army training
  5. cell — a phone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. face — to point toward
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. face — to confront
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mate — a partner
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mate — to breed
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. kid — child
  19. cell — in biology
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — certain
  24. snap — to click

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