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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 116 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — obliged
  3. perch — the fish
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cue — for pool
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. court — of law
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. sharp — clever
  13. capital — money
  14. bound — tied together
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cue — a hint
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cue — a signal
  24. perch — for a bird

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