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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. drill — army training
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cap — of ice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bound — certain
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — a hat
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bound — tied together
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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