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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 120 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bound — certain
  4. file — a tool
  5. row — a line
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bound — tied together
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. tube — a container
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tube — the underground
  17. file — a document
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bass — low music
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rash — hasty
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. tube — in a tire

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