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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rest — a break
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bound — tied together
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stem — to come from
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — a city
  13. pound — a weight
  14. capital — money
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. season — of the year
  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