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

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. court — for sport
  3. present — there
  4. file — a document
  5. court — of a king
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. court — of law
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. present — a gift
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bound — obliged
  14. present — the time now
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bass — the fish

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