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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 116 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. charge — electricity
  3. ground — a position
  4. bound — obliged
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — in music
  8. spring — of water
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. key — the most important part
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. snap — to click
  18. charge — a price
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spring — the season
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. charge — in control
  24. ground — the earth

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