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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. bound — certain
  6. march — the month
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. current — electric
  9. bound — tied together
  10. board — to get on
  11. bound — obliged
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. board — a committee
  14. cold — not warm
  15. current — happening now
  16. march — the month
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. rule — government
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. cold — an illness
  21. march — music
  22. current — of water
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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