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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. current — of water
  3. bound — certain
  4. club — a group
  5. mate — a partner
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cell — in biology
  8. current — happening now
  9. cold — not warm
  10. band — a music group
  11. cell — a phone
  12. band — a ring
  13. shower — rain
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bound — tied together
  17. club — for golf
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mate — a friend
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. current — electric
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cold — an illness

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