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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bound — obliged
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bass — low music
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bound — certain
  7. board — a committee
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. board — to get on
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. pitcher — a jug

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