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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bound — certain
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. row — a line
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. fall — the season
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. row — to paddle
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. rash — a series
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. rush — hurry

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