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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — help
  6. swing — music
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fall — the season
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — tied together
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. swing — in golf
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. march — music
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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