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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pop — to visit
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bound — tied together
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pop — soda
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pop — music
  13. bound — certain
  14. land — to come down
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. sharp — clever
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. land — ground
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. land — a country
  23. hand — help
  24. shower — rain

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