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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fine — all right
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — to recline
  10. hand — help
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bound — obliged
  13. fine — high quality
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bulb — for light
  16. track — a path
  17. capital — money
  18. bound — certain
  19. capital — a city
  20. cold — an illness
  21. track — a song
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fine — a penalty

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