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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — a box
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bound — obliged
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. chest — of your body

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