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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bound — obliged
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mine — for digging
  9. object — an aim
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. band — a ring
  13. charge — in control
  14. fork — in a road
  15. charge — electricity
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bound — tied together
  18. charge — a price
  19. object — to protest
  20. tear — to rip
  21. object — a thing
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bound — certain
  24. wake — a trail

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