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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. net — in sport
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. present — the time now
  7. bound — certain
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. branch — a division
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — army training
  16. present — a gift
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. drill — the tool
  19. net — for catching
  20. pitch — completely
  21. present — there
  22. net — after costs
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. branch — of a bank

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