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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bound — certain
  6. board — a committee
  7. cold — not warm
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. scale — size or range
  10. board — to get on
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. scale — in music
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. chair — a leader
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitch — completely
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. scale — for weighing

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