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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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468
Word bank
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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. swing — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rest — what's left
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rest — what's left
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bound — certain
  18. hand — help
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bound — tied together
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. rest — a break
  24. bound — obliged

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