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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. swing — in golf
  4. board — to get on
  5. content — happy
  6. swing — to play on
  7. present — there
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bound — certain
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. swing — music
  19. board — a committee
  20. drill — army training
  21. bear — the animal
  22. content — the amount
  23. drill — a practice
  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