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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. season — in sport
  3. court — for sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cap — a hat
  7. spell — letters
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bound — certain
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. court — of law
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bound — tied together
  16. court — of a king
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic

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