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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pop — soda
  6. saw — the tool
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pop — to visit
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bound — tied together
  13. shower — rain
  14. cold — not warm
  15. roll — a cake
  16. pit — a hole
  17. roll — a list
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pop — music
  24. roll — on a roll

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