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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. band — a music group
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bound — tied together
  10. chest — of your body
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chest — a box
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cell — in biology
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bound — certain
  22. band — a ring
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bound — obliged

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