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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. last — final
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pop — to visit
  7. file — a document
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pop — soda
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. squash — the sport
  13. last — finally
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. squash — to crush
  17. last — to go on
  18. file — a tool
  19. pop — music
  20. fall — the season
  21. bound — tied together
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. kick — in football

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