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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. spell — magic
  4. bound — certain
  5. spell — letters
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. craft — boats
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. spell — a short time
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bound — tied together

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