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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bound — certain
  4. shower — rain
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bound — tied together
  7. last — finally
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cap — a hat
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cap — of ice
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — what's left
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. shower — to wash
  21. mate — to breed
  22. rest — a break
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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