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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · pitcher · bound · mine · rush · season · swing · perch

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — obliged
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. perch — the fish
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. swing — music
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mine — belonging to me

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