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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. season — in sport
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. capital — money
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. capital — a city
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. season — of the year
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — the animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. content — happy

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