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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. file — a line of people
  5. key — the most important part
  6. last — to go on
  7. pop — music
  8. capital — money
  9. file — a tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. key — for a lock
  12. spring — the season
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. file — a document
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. content — happy
  17. pop — soda
  18. spring — a coil
  19. content — the amount
  20. key — in music
  21. spring — of water
  22. bound — obliged
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bound — tied together

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