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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — obliged
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. clip — a video
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — of law
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. court — for sport
  20. clip — to cut
  21. board — to get on
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. board — a committee
  24. court — of a king

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