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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. band — a music group
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bass — the fish
  5. spring — of water
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. spell — magic
  9. bound — certain
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — low music
  15. chest — a box
  16. spring — the season
  17. band — a ring
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bound — tied together
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spell — letters
  22. chest — of your body
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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