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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bound — obliged
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wake — a trail
  8. rash — a series
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fine — all right
  14. tear — to rip
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bound — tied together
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chip — for betting

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