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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. land — a country
  4. last — final
  5. capital — a city
  6. club — a group
  7. land — ground
  8. drill — a practice
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — the tool
  11. last — to go on
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — money
  14. bound — obliged
  15. club — for dancing
  16. last — finally
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bound — certain
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. row — a line
  22. drill — army training
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. land — to come down

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