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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stand — to bear
  4. season — of the year
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bound — obliged
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. season — in sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chip — for betting

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