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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · wound · pass · fan · kid · content · spring · chair

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bound — obliged
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pass — a permit
  5. kid — to tease
  6. content — happy
  7. bound — tied together
  8. spring — of water
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. spring — the season
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bound — certain
  20. content — the amount
  21. kid — child
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wound — an injury
  24. content — videos and posts

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