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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 120 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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — certain
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chest — a box
  6. wound — an injury
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cold — not warm
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bound — tied together
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. march — the month

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