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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rest — a break
  3. bank — of a river
  4. dip — to sink
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. perch — the fish
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. rest — what's left
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spring — of water
  16. bank — for money
  17. spring — a coil
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — the season
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. perch — for a bird

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