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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ground — a position
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bound — obliged
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bound — tied together
  10. key — in music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. key — the most important part
  15. tear — from crying
  16. race — a contest
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. race — humankind
  19. key — for a lock
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. rash — hasty
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bat — in an idiom

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