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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. track — a path
  3. rock — music
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bound — tied together
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — of your body
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rock — a stone
  13. net — in sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. net — for catching
  16. chest — a box
  17. net — after costs
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. track — a song
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. track — to keep track
  24. clip — a video

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