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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. march — music
  3. bound — certain
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. firm — steady
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pitch — completely
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cold — not warm
  14. date — the fruit
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. firm — decided
  18. march — the month
  19. firm — a company
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kick — in football
  23. march — the month
  24. bound — obliged

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