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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. net — in sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. net — after costs
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. march — the month
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. date — the fruit
  23. net — for catching
  24. chip — in a computer

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