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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: bound · rule · key · field · kick · bat · kid · roll

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — for sport
  7. roll — a list
  8. kid — child
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. key — the most important part
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rule — a law
  17. field — a subject
  18. key — for a lock
  19. rule — government
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. field — farmland
  23. key — in music
  24. rule — to rule out

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