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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cell — a phone
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bound — certain
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tube — a container
  13. saw — the tool
  14. swing — in golf
  15. saw — the tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bound — tied together
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  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