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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. last — to go on
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — a box
  8. branch — a division
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. hand — help
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — finally
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. track — a path
  18. last — final
  19. track — to keep track
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. track — a song
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bound — certain

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