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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bound — obliged
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a document
  5. shower — to wash
  6. last — final
  7. can — to be able to
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. saw — the tool
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. can — a tin
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. can — a tin
  19. bound — certain
  20. file — a tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. shower — rain
  24. deal — an agreement

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