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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 124 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. mark — a trace
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. land — ground
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — rain
  18. rule — a law
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. rule — government
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bound — certain
  24. cell — in a prison

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