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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. suit — clothes
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pop — music
  6. suit — to fit
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pop — to visit
  10. spell — letters
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pop — soda
  13. suit — in cards
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. object — to protest
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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