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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 112 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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. swing — to play on
  3. march — music
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bound — certain
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bound — obliged
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. drill — army training
  11. swing — music
  12. cap — of ice
  13. march — the month
  14. cap — a hat
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bound — tied together
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — the tool

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