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

Word bank: rest · bark · cold · pass · rule · stand · mate · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rule — government
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pass — a permit
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bark — to shout
  17. rest — a break
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bound — certain
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. rule — a law
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. stand — to bear

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