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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tear — from crying
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ground — a position
  5. bound — tied together
  6. object — to protest
  7. pop — music
  8. capital — money
  9. object — a thing
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pop — to visit
  12. ground — crushed
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bound — certain
  15. ground — the earth
  16. capital — a city
  17. pop — soda
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. tear — from crying
  22. object — an aim
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. field — farmland

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