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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. march — music
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. land — to come down
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. court — of law
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cap — a hat
  11. court — for sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. land — ground
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bound — obliged
  18. cap — a lid
  19. march — the month
  20. court — of a king
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. march — the month
  24. land — a country

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