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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. club — a group
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. club — for golf
  10. rush — hurry
  11. drill — army training
  12. branch — a division
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cold — an illness
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bark — to shout
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cold — not warm
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. club — for dancing

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