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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bound — certain
  5. pop — music
  6. land — ground
  7. can — to be able to
  8. plane — a tool
  9. bound — tied together
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cold — not warm
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. can — a tin
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. can — a tin
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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