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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitch — completely
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. drill — the tool
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bound — tied together
  22. drill — army training
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wave — of the sea

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