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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rash — a series
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. drill — the tool
  10. row — a line
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. staff — a stick
  15. bound — obliged
  16. drill — army training
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bark — to shout
  20. staff — employees
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bound — tied together
  24. drill — a practice

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