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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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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. spell — letters
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. bound — certain
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rash — hasty
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rash — a series
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bound — tied together
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spell — a short time
  15. game — a match
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spell — magic
  18. date — the fruit

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