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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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. spell — letters
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — in control
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mark — a trace
  8. charge — electricity
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. court — of a king
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spell — magic
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — goods
  18. bound — tied together
  19. court — of law
  20. mark — a grade
  21. court — for sport
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bound — certain
  24. bark — of a tree

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