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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. net — in sport
  3. bound — certain
  4. suit — in cards
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. net — after costs
  8. bound — obliged
  9. game — a match
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bound — tied together
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. suit — clothes
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cell — in biology
  19. net — for catching
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cell — a phone

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