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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bound · kid · drill · file · chair · stick · spell · season

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

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bound — obliged
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. season — in sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spell — letters
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bound — certain
  10. spell — a short time
  11. file — a tool
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. spell — magic
  15. file — a document
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bound — tied together
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. kid — child
  20. drill — a practice
  21. season — of the year
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. drill — army training

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