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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — the season
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. spring — of water
  17. mine — for digging
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bound — tied together
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. rash — a series
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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