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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bark — to shout
  3. row — to paddle
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. row — a line
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. band — a ring
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. band — a music group
  16. degree — from a university
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. degree — an amount
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bound — obliged

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