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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: cold · bound · present · rule · wake · plane · kid · jam

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. 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. present — there
  2. rule — a law
  3. kid — child
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bound — obliged
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. kid — to tease
  13. present — the time now
  14. bound — tied together
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. present — a gift
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cold — an illness
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. rule — government
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bound — certain
  24. 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