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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bound — tied together
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rest — a break
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. kid — child
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bound — certain
  24. dip — a sauce

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