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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bound — tied together
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bound — certain
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cold — not warm
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cold — an illness
  13. court — for sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. court — of law
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. court — of a king
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. dip — to sink

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