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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. club — a group
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pop — to visit
  6. file — a document
  7. game — a match
  8. season — of the year
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bound — obliged
  11. row — a line
  12. bound — tied together
  13. prune — to trim
  14. season — in sport
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a tool
  17. row — to paddle
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pop — soda
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pop — music
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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