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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bound — obliged
  4. staff — employees
  5. bass — low music
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bass — the fish
  9. staff — a stick
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rash — hasty
  12. cold — not warm
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. rash — a series
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ground — a position
  20. bound — tied together
  21. row — a line
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bound — certain
  24. staff — employees

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