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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bound — certain
  3. march — music
  4. ground — crushed
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — tied together
  9. fall — the season
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. ground — the earth
  12. march — the month
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kick — in football
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a music group
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. ground — a position
  23. band — a ring
  24. chest — a box

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