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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pop — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cue — a signal
  9. capital — money
  10. cue — for pool
  11. branch — a division
  12. tear — from crying
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pop — soda
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. bound — obliged
  20. wound — an injury
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bound — certain
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. coach — a trainer

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