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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: track · cold · pop · bound · lie · net · patient · chair

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — tied together
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pop — music
  7. net — after costs
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cold — an illness
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. track — a path
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. net — in sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lie — to recline
  19. pop — soda
  20. track — a song
  21. track — to keep track
  22. net — for catching
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pop — to visit

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