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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — obliged
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bound — certain
  7. wind — moving air
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitch — completely
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. chest — of your body
  15. row — a line
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chest — a box
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cabinet — ministers

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