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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. rest — what's left
  8. track — a path
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rest — a break
  11. capital — a city
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bound — obliged
  14. capital — money
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. track — a song
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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