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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. court — of a king
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. court — for sport
  8. bound — obliged
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a line of people
  11. deal — to handle
  12. march — the month
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bound — certain
  15. court — of law
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. file — a tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. march — music
  23. file — a document
  24. row — a line

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