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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 116 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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. bound — obliged
  2. plane — a tool
  3. court — of a king
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cold — an illness
  7. last — finally
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of law
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — to go on
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. branch — a division
  16. last — final
  17. bat — the animal
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cold — not warm
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. court — for sport
  23. bat — for baseball
  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