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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rush — hurry
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bound — tied together
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bark — to shout
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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