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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — obliged
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. track — a path
  7. rule — government
  8. track — a song
  9. cold — not warm
  10. saw — the tool
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bound — certain
  14. rule — a law
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wake — a trail
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. branch — a division
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cold — an illness
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. track — to keep track

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