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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bound — obliged
  3. track — a song
  4. net — after costs
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bound — certain
  14. lean — thin
  15. rock — a stone
  16. net — in sport
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rash — a series
  20. track — a path
  21. net — for catching
  22. bound — tied together
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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