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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rule — government
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bound — tied together
  17. wind — moving air
  18. craft — boats
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rule — a law
  21. craft — a skill
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. bound — certain

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