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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. sharp — clever
  3. drill — the tool
  4. spell — magic
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spell — letters
  9. file — a line of people
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. drill — army training
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. march — music
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chair — a leader
  19. file — a tool
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bound — obliged
  22. file — a document
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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