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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · racket · club · fork · bound · chair

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — a leader
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bound — certain
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bound — obliged
  8. club — for golf
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bound — tied together
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. club — a group
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fork — in a road

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