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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. saw — the tool
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spring — of water
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. swing — music
  10. bound — certain
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spring — the season
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pit — in a race
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bound — tied together

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