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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. land — to come down
  3. bark — to shout
  4. object — to protest
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cold — an illness
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. object — an aim
  9. land — ground
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pit — in a race
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. object — a thing
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. land — a country
  24. dip — a sauce

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