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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. track — a song
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fine — high quality
  12. field — farmland
  13. rash — a series
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chair — a leader
  19. field — for sport
  20. track — a path
  21. field — a subject
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cue — for pool

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