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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pop — music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bound — obliged
  6. capital — a city
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bound — tied together
  9. ground — crushed
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. capital — money
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pop — to visit
  14. craft — a skill
  15. ground — the earth
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pop — soda
  20. craft — boats
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — a position
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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