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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. net — for catching
  10. spring — a coil
  11. net — in sport
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. court — of a king
  15. net — after costs
  16. spring — of water
  17. bat — the animal
  18. spring — the season
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bound — certain
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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