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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. roll — a list
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bound — obliged
  6. squash — the sport
  7. march — the month
  8. face — to point toward
  9. rule — a law
  10. squash — to crush
  11. roll — a cake
  12. march — the month
  13. face — to confront
  14. game — a match
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bark — to shout
  17. march — music
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. rule — government
  21. bound — certain
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. game — wild animals

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