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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bound — tied together
  4. land — a country
  5. land — ground
  6. charge — electricity
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. charge — in control
  10. bound — certain
  11. game — a match
  12. charge — a price
  13. land — to come down
  14. cold — not warm
  15. game — wild animals
  16. swing — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fall — to drop
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. bound — obliged
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fall — the season
  24. club — for dancing

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