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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fine — all right
  3. court — of law
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pass — a permit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. scale — size or range
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chest — of your body
  16. scale — in music
  17. root — of a word
  18. chest — a box
  19. root — the cause
  20. bound — certain
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pass — to succeed

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