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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bat — the animal
  3. last — to go on
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bound — certain
  6. fine — all right
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. last — final
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. bass — low music
  22. pound — a weight
  23. last — finally
  24. bear — the animal

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