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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. capital — a city
  3. wound — an injury
  4. track — a path
  5. bound — obliged
  6. club — for dancing
  7. track — a song
  8. wound — an injury
  9. staff — employees
  10. capital — money
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. club — for golf
  14. bound — tied together
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. club — a group
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. staff — employees
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. track — to keep track

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