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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bound — tied together
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. face — to confront
  6. bound — obliged
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. scale — in music
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rash — a series
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. club — a group
  16. scale — size or range
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. band — a music group
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. band — a ring

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