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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. court — of a king
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bound — tied together
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bore — to drill
  8. saw — the tool
  9. court — of law
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. march — the month
  14. court — for sport
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. shower — rain
  22. pound — a weight
  23. march — music
  24. bound — obliged

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