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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bound — certain
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chest — a box
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rest — a break
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bound — tied together
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fall — the season
  23. rock — music
  24. bound — obliged

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