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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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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: rule · bound · prune · chair · lie · board · spring · scale

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. board — to get on
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bound — certain
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — government
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. board — a committee
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. scale — in music
  23. lie — to recline
  24. scale — for weighing

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