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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fall — to drop
  7. march — the month
  8. bound — certain
  9. march — music
  10. fall — to drop
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. roll — a list
  13. cold — not warm
  14. band — a ring
  15. march — the month
  16. roll — a cake
  17. band — a music group
  18. fall — the season
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. patient — a sick person

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