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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. march — music
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. march — the month
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. branch — a division
  17. wind — moving air
  18. march — the month
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bound — tied together

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