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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. chest — a box
  3. mate — a friend
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mate — a partner
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bound — certain
  14. chest — of your body
  15. saw — the tool
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mate — to breed

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