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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. present — the time now
  3. bound — certain
  4. present — a gift
  5. bound — tied together
  6. plane — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spell — magic
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stock — shares
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. present — there
  24. plane — an aircraft

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