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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cap — a lid
  7. spring — the season
  8. bound — certain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cap — of ice
  11. shower — rain
  12. tear — from crying
  13. spring — of water
  14. season — of the year
  15. shower — to wash
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bound — tied together
  20. season — in sport
  21. ground — crushed
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cap — a hat
  24. ground — a position

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