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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bound — obliged
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. band — a ring
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. band — a music group
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. charge — in control
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mark — a trace
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bat — for baseball

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