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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pop — soda
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pop — to visit
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bank — for money
  13. land — a country
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pop — music
  16. toast — bread
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bank — of a river
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bank — for money
  21. bound — tied together
  22. swing — music
  23. bound — certain
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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