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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bound — obliged
  5. press — newspapers
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bound — certain
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. press — to push
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cap — of ice
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rash — hasty
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. game — a match
  17. press — a publisher
  18. rash — a series
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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