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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cold — not warm
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bound — certain
  8. foot — a measure
  9. mug — a face
  10. stem — to come from
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mine — for digging
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. scale — in music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mug — a cup

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