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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bound — certain
  3. file — a document
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. file — a tool
  7. bound — obliged
  8. spell — letters
  9. scale — in music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bound — tied together
  18. scale — size or range
  19. spring — of water
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. row — to paddle
  24. scale — for weighing

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