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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 116 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bound — certain
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. march — the month
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bound — obliged
  9. firm — a company
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. march — the month
  13. firm — steady
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. firm — decided

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