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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. last — finally
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. land — to come down
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bound — obliged
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bound — tied together
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. bound — certain
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. last — final
  20. spring — the season
  21. branch — a division
  22. last — to go on
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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