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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bark — to shout
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. wind — moving air
  6. saw — the tool
  7. can — a tin
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. can — to be able to
  12. band — a music group
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. can — a tin
  17. band — a ring
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pop — music
  23. bound — tied together
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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