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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. file — a document
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mark — a trace
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fork — in a road
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mark — a grade
  18. stem — to come from
  19. kick — in football
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. file — a tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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