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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. mug — a face
  3. rock — music
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. firm — a company
  7. mug — to rob
  8. march — the month
  9. rock — a stone
  10. firm — steady
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bound — obliged
  18. mug — a cup
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bat — the animal
  21. firm — decided
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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