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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — tied together
  3. spell — magic
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — to drop
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stem — to come from
  10. club — for golf
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spell — letters
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. club — a group

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