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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. net — after costs
  3. bound — tied together
  4. present — there
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. present — the time now
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fork — in a road
  15. pop — soda
  16. present — a gift
  17. net — in sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rush — hurry
  20. net — for catching
  21. pop — music
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bound — obliged

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