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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bound — certain
  5. staff — employees
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. tear — from crying
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — a leader
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bound — tied together
  14. fork — in a road
  15. staff — employees
  16. bat — the animal
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fork — to eat with

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