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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: land · key · bound · stick · rash · cabinet · fall · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. land — to come down
  8. key — in music
  9. bound — certain
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rash — a series
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pit — a hole
  15. land — a country
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. key — the most important part
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. key — for a lock
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. land — ground
  24. fall — the season

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