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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bark — to shout
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. key — in music
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. track — a path
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stem — to come from
  12. track — a song
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. track — to keep track
  15. key — for a lock
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bound — obliged
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bound — tied together
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. hand — help

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