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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pop — to visit
  3. race — humankind
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. present — a gift
  7. pop — soda
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pop — music
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. file — a document
  15. present — there
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bound — certain
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a line of people
  21. present — the time now
  22. file — a tool
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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