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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. last — finally
  3. spring — a coil
  4. land — to come down
  5. bound — obliged
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rule — government
  9. bound — tied together
  10. spring — of water
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rule — a law
  14. cue — for pool
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cue — a hint
  17. last — to go on
  18. land — a country
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. spring — the season
  21. cue — a signal
  22. land — ground
  23. last — final
  24. rule — to rule out

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