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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bound — certain
  3. spring — of water
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bound — obliged
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pit — in a race
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bulb — for light
  13. firm — steady
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pit — a hole
  16. firm — a company
  17. clip — a video
  18. fall — the season
  19. spring — the season
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. firm — decided
  23. fall — to drop
  24. clip — to cut

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