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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bound — certain
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. can — a tin
  14. bound — obliged
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. shower — rain
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wake — a trail

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