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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bound — tied together
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rule — government
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bulb — for light
  14. plane — a tool
  15. kid — child
  16. branch — a division
  17. rule — a law
  18. bound — obliged
  19. ground — a position
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. ground — crushed
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ground — the earth

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