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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — for digging
  3. file — a tool
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. fine — high quality
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. last — finally
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pitch — completely
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bound — tied together
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. file — a document
  20. last — to go on
  21. fine — all right
  22. mug — a face
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — an explosive

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