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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. net — in sport
  3. firm — decided
  4. net — after costs
  5. club — for golf
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. net — for catching
  11. bound — certain
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. race — humankind
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — a company
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bound — tied together
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bass — low music
  24. race — a contest

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