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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: bound · bark · fall · cap · object · mine · ball · row

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bound — certain
  3. bark — to shout
  4. object — to protest
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cap — a hat
  7. bound — obliged
  8. object — a thing
  9. bound — tied together
  10. object — an aim
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fall — to drop
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. ball — a great time
  18. fall — the season
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cap — a lid
  21. ball — a dance
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. row — a line

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