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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — obliged
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bound — certain
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bound — tied together
  11. track — a song
  12. cold — an illness
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cold — not warm
  17. club — for golf
  18. track — a path
  19. sharp — clever
  20. fine — high quality
  21. club — for dancing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. club — a group
  24. staff — employees

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