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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 116 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 ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bound — obliged
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mate — a friend
  7. ball — a dance
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. mate — a partner
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. race — a contest
  15. land — ground
  16. mate — to breed
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bound — tied together
  21. land — a country
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. land — to come down
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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