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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. land — ground
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. land — to come down
  6. pop — soda
  7. season — in sport
  8. bound — obliged
  9. club — for golf
  10. tube — a container
  11. land — a country
  12. pop — music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. club — a group
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. season — of the year
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. pop — to visit
  21. tube — the underground
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bound — tied together
  24. club — for dancing

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