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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. track — to keep track
  7. mine — for digging
  8. track — a song
  9. bound — obliged
  10. object — an aim
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. object — to protest
  15. march — the month
  16. track — a path
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. pound — a weight
  21. object — a thing
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mine — belonging to me

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