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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bound — tied together
  4. band — a music group
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. field — a subject
  7. clip — for paper
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. band — a ring
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. field — for sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. fork — in a road
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. field — farmland
  24. bound — certain

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