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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bound — tied together
  3. field — a subject
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — thin
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bound — obliged
  13. field — for sport
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wind — moving air
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ball — a great time
  21. field — farmland
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bound — certain

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