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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bound — certain
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. band — a music group
  11. capital — a city
  12. cold — an illness
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mark — a grade
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cold — not warm
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bound — obliged
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mark — a trace
  21. band — a ring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bound — tied together
  24. capital — money

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