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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. date — the fruit
  4. cell — a phone
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rule — government
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. tube — a container
  11. bound — tied together
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bound — certain
  15. cell — in biology
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. rule — a law
  22. tube — the underground
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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