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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. fork — in a road
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. mark — a trace
  6. rash — a series
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mark — a grade
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pitcher — a jug

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