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

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mark — a trace
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — certain
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mark — a grade
  18. chest — a box

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