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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 120 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. file — a tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. key — for a lock
  14. board — to get on
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. bound — tied together
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bound — certain
  21. foot — a measure
  22. file — a document
  23. key — in music
  24. bat — the animal

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