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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. net — in sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. net — after costs
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bound — obliged
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. suit — to fit
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — for catching
  18. scale — in music
  19. suit — clothes
  20. suit — in cards
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. pitch — completely

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