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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bore — to tire
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wound — an injury
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. track — a song
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a ring
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. band — a music group

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