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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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Word bank
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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: bound · row · bat · court · cold · firm · pit · march

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bound — certain
  3. march — music
  4. firm — decided
  5. court — of law
  6. firm — a company
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a line
  10. court — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bound — tied together
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. firm — steady
  17. cold — an illness
  18. court — of a king
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. cold — the Cold War

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