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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 120 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pitch — completely
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. net — in sport
  8. pit — a hole
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bound — obliged
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pop — soda
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. chest — a box
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. clip — a video
  24. chest — of your body

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