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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. race — humankind
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. capital — money
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — a contest
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — to rip
  17. race — the arms race
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. capital — a city
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pound — a weight

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