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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — tied together
  3. roll — a cake
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. clip — to cut
  8. shower — rain
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. stock — goods
  12. bound — obliged
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — shares
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. clip — a video
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. wake — a trail
  24. rush — hurry

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