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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bound — obliged
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. march — the month
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bound — tied together
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. squash — the sport
  11. march — the month
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bound — certain
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rush — hurry
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — music
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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