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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bound — tied together
  5. ground — a position
  6. bound — certain
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. march — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. march — the month
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pop — soda
  18. march — the month
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bound — obliged

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