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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 120 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. branch — a division
  3. bound — obliged
  4. capital — a city
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bear — the animal
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — there
  11. file — a tool
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. present — the time now
  17. capital — money
  18. bound — certain

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