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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. deal — a big deal
  3. race — humankind
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bound — certain
  7. court — of a king
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — of law
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. saw — the tool
  19. court — for sport
  20. deal — to handle
  21. race — a contest
  22. capital — money
  23. race — the arms race
  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