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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. board — a committee
  3. march — music
  4. bound — obliged
  5. spring — a coil
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bound — certain
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — the season
  11. board — to get on
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — the month
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. lean — thin
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cell — in biology

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