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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — tied together
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. race — a contest
  5. land — to come down
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. land — ground
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. race — the arms race
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bound — certain
  17. dip — to sink
  18. land — a country
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — humankind
  23. scale — in music
  24. rush — to hurry

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