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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. can — a tin
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bound — certain
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bound — tied together
  7. capital — a city
  8. mate — to breed
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mate — a partner
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mate — a friend
  16. scale — in music
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. capital — money
  23. scale — size or range
  24. capital — a big letter

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