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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cue — for pool
  13. last — final
  14. bound — certain
  15. cue — a hint
  16. chest — of your body
  17. club — for dancing
  18. last — finally
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bound — tied together
  22. chest — a box
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. arm — part of the 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