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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bound — obliged
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. club — for golf
  7. land — to come down
  8. club — a group
  9. spring — of water
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. land — a country
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. key — for a lock
  17. branch — a division
  18. land — ground
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. key — in music

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