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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. clip — a video
  6. bass — the fish
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — certain
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. court — of a king
  16. pit — a hole
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bass — low music
  19. court — for sport
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rash — a series
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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