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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bound — obliged
  3. clip — a video
  4. spring — of water
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rash — a series
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bound — tied together
  12. spring — the season
  13. clip — for paper
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. mate — a friend
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. clip — to cut
  19. branch — a division
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mate — a partner
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. 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