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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 ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bound — certain
  4. net — in sport
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cold — not warm
  9. swing — in golf
  10. season — in sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. cold — an illness
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. bound — obliged
  20. net — for catching
  21. season — of the year
  22. net — after costs
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — the Cold War

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