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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · bound · rule · mark · land · spring · lie · hand

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bound — obliged
  3. club — for golf
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bound — certain
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. rule — a law
  8. lie — to recline
  9. spring — of water
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. spring — the season
  12. bound — tied together
  13. rule — government
  14. hand — help
  15. mark — a trace
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. mark — a grade
  21. club — for dancing
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. club — a group
  24. rule — to rule out

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