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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 116 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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pit — a hole
  6. land — a country
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. land — to come down
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. lean — thin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. lean — to bend
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bound — certain
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pit — in a race
  24. land — ground

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