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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. swing — to play on
  3. bound — certain
  4. cold — not warm
  5. current — electric
  6. bound — obliged
  7. fine — all right
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. current — happening now
  10. bat — the animal
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. fine — high quality
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. current — of water
  24. swing — music

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