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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bound — certain
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. sharp — clever
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. lean — thin
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. band — a ring
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. cold — an illness
  24. sharp — with an edge

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