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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bound — tied together
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. march — the month
  6. bound — certain
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cell — a phone
  9. march — music
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. march — the month
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. cold — not warm
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cold — the Cold War

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