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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bound — tied together
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bound — certain
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stand — to bear
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stock — goods
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — not warm
  21. march — the month
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — a law

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