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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rock — music
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. court — of law
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. march — music
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. court — of a king
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. court — for sport
  14. march — the month
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bound — certain
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. season — of the year
  21. bound — tied together
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. season — in sport
  24. march — the month

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