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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 116 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. net — for catching
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. ground — a position
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. season — of the year
  9. bound — tied together
  10. ground — crushed
  11. net — after costs
  12. race — humankind
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. net — in sport
  15. bound — obliged
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. ground — the earth
  21. season — in sport
  22. shower — rain
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — a leader

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