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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. season — of the year
  3. bound — obliged
  4. shower — to wash
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bound — certain
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. board — to get on
  18. shower — rain
  19. board — a committee
  20. pit — a hole
  21. season — in sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pit — in a race

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