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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rock — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mate — to breed
  8. rock — a stone
  9. current — of water
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bound — certain
  17. branch — a division
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. current — electric
  20. prune — to trim
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. lie — to recline
  23. current — happening now
  24. bound — tied together

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