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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: spring · bound · sharp · cold · present · rule · pound · track

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cold — not warm
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. spring — the season
  9. bound — tied together
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. present — the time now
  13. pound — a weight
  14. track — a song
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cold — an illness
  18. track — a path
  19. rule — government
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bound — obliged
  22. present — there
  23. track — to keep track
  24. present — a gift

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