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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. charge — a price
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pop — soda
  6. mate — a friend
  7. charge — electricity
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mate — to breed
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. charge — in control
  15. pop — music
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cold — an illness
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bound — tied together
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bat — for baseball

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