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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. last — to go on
  7. board — to get on
  8. bound — certain
  9. squash — to crush
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bound — obliged
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — an illness
  18. board — a committee
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. straw — a straw man

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