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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bound — obliged
  4. march — the month
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. march — the month
  7. field — a subject
  8. bound — tied together
  9. file — a tool
  10. march — music
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. row — to paddle
  14. file — a document
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. current — happening now
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. current — electric
  22. row — a line
  23. current — of water
  24. wave — of the sea

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