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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bass — low music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bound — tied together
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cap — a lid
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cold — an illness
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. club — a group
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bound — certain
  21. club — for golf
  22. cap — of ice
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. ruler — for measuring

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