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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. spring — the season
  3. ball — a dance
  4. hand — in cards
  5. ball — a great time
  6. hand — help
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bound — certain
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spring — a coil
  17. board — to get on
  18. spring — of water
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — a committee
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. trunk — of a car

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