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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 116 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bass — the fish
  3. spell — magic
  4. bass — low music
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fall — to drop
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spell — letters
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bound — tied together
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. fall — the season
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bound — obliged
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. spell — a short time

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