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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spell — letters
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bound — certain
  7. track — to keep track
  8. spell — a short time
  9. band — a music group
  10. cap — a lid
  11. band — a ring
  12. cap — of ice
  13. spell — magic
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. track — a song
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. last — final
  23. track — a path
  24. cap — a hat

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