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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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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. rash — a series
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bound — certain
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lean — to bend
  10. club — for golf
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. lean — thin
  17. club — for dancing
  18. rash — hasty

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