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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fine · pound · tear · bound · date · spell · jam · cold

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bound — obliged
  4. fine — all right
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bound — certain
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cold — an illness
  11. spell — a short time
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — high quality
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. spell — magic
  22. bound — tied together
  23. tear — from crying
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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