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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tear — from crying
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bound — certain
  7. court — of law
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — for sport
  10. stock — goods
  11. clip — for paper
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. stock — shares
  14. mug — a cup
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mug — to rob
  17. race — a contest
  18. court — of a king
  19. bound — tied together
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. clip — to cut
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mug — a face

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