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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: drill · bound · march · chest · safe · rule · bear · stem

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. drill — army training
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. march — the month
  8. bound — certain
  9. chest — a box
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. rule — government
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rule — a law
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — obliged

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