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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. ball — a dance
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bound — tied together
  11. track — to keep track
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. drill — army training
  16. track — a song
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bound — certain
  22. lie — to recline
  23. track — a path
  24. cold — the Cold War

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