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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bound — obliged
  4. march — music
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — money
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. file — a tool
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. march — the month
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. spring — a coil
  17. file — a document
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — tied together
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. capital — a city

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