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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 120 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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. drill — the tool
  3. march — the month
  4. saw — the tool
  5. season — in sport
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. land — to come down
  11. saw — the tool
  12. track — a path
  13. track — a song
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. track — to keep track
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. drill — army training
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. drill — a practice
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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