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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. face — to confront
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. net — for catching
  8. board — a committee
  9. file — a document
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bound — certain
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. net — in sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. file — a tool
  17. face — to point toward
  18. board — to get on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bound — tied together
  23. face — part of the head
  24. net — after costs

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