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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pit — in a race
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chest — a box
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bound — tied together
  14. mine — for digging
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wound — an injury
  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