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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bulb — for light
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. capital — money
  9. fine — all right
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bound — certain
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. capital — a city
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mark — a grade
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mark — a trace
  24. chair — a leader

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