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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cold — an illness
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mine — for digging
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. face — to confront
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mark — a grade
  11. row — to paddle
  12. face — part of the head
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mark — a trace
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. bound — certain
  21. row — a line
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. cold — not warm

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