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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bass — the fish
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bass — low music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. lie — to recline
  24. game — a match

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