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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — obliged
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bore — to tire
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cold — not warm
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mate — a partner
  13. court — of a king
  14. bound — certain
  15. bore — to drill
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. branch — a division
  23. court — for sport
  24. bore — gave birth

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