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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rash — a series
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cell — a phone
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. stock — shares
  12. mine — for digging
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bound — certain
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. mine — an explosive

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