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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rock — music
  3. bound — certain
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. stem — to come from
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. track — a song
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. track — a path
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wound — an injury
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rock — a stone
  24. wound — an injury

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