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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 116 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: kid · row · patient · chair · stick · pop · saw · bound

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bound — obliged
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pop — music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. row — to paddle
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. pop — soda
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bound — tied together
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bound — certain
  15. row — a line
  16. chair — a leader
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pop — to visit
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. kid — to tease

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