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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pop — soda
  4. march — the month
  5. board — to get on
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pit — in a race
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. march — music
  18. board — a committee
  19. march — the month
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tube — in a tire

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