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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bound — certain
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chair — a leader
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. bound — tied together
  9. spring — a coil
  10. land — ground
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. spring — of water
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. last — finally
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. last — final
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bound — obliged
  24. lie — an untruth

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