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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bass — low music
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. squash — the sport
  7. cell — in biology
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. net — in sport
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. net — after costs
  14. bass — the fish
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bound — certain
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bound — tied together
  24. net — for catching

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