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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bat — the animal
  3. dip — to sink
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rash — a series
  8. cell — in biology
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cold — not warm
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cold — an illness

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