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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. game — a match
  3. bound — certain
  4. cell — in biology
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. game — wild animals
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bound — tied together
  21. season — in sport
  22. bear — the animal
  23. season — of the year
  24. rush — a thrill

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