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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. bound — certain
  5. season — of the year
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. row — a line
  8. track — a path
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. spell — letters
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. row — to paddle
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spell — magic

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