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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pop — soda
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — music
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bat — for baseball

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