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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. firm — decided
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. fall — to drop
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — steady
  7. last — final
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. clip — to cut
  12. fork — in a road
  13. hand — help
  14. bound — certain
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fall — the season
  17. bound — tied together
  18. clip — a video
  19. last — finally
  20. clip — for paper
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. hand — in cards
  24. last — to go on

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