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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — certain
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bound — obliged
  7. lie — to recline
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bound — tied together
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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