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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. pass — a permit
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bark — to shout
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cap — a hat
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cell — in biology
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bound — certain
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cap — a lid

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