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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bound — certain
  8. rule — a law
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ground — the earth
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cell — a phone
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bound — tied together
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rule — government
  24. ground — a position

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