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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. rule — government
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mate — a partner
  7. clip — for paper
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — part of the head
  14. mate — to breed
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bound — certain
  19. vault — a safe
  20. chest — a box
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — a video
  23. rule — a law
  24. rest — a break

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