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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. capital — a city
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — obliged
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. capital — money
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cold — not warm
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. stem — to come from
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bound — certain
  19. pound — a weight
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. dip — to sink
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pound — for dogs

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