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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. spell — letters
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bound — certain
  8. pass — a permit
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. rock — music
  12. spell — magic
  13. rock — a stone
  14. file — a tool
  15. bound — obliged
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — of the year
  22. bound — tied together
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. season — in sport

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