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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. last — final
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bound — certain
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. last — finally
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. last — to go on

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