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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rash — a series
  5. shower — to wash
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rash — hasty
  9. chest — a box
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. fall — the season
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bound — certain
  16. chest — of your body
  17. shower — rain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. track — a path
  20. fall — to drop
  21. track — a song
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chest — of your body

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