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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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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: hand · bore · face · file · mouse · bound · kid · spell

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kid — child
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a line of people
  7. spell — magic
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bore — to tire
  11. file — a tool
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bound — tied together
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. spell — letters
  19. bound — certain
  20. hand — help
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. spell — a short time

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