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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. wax — to grow
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. file — a tool
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. mark — a trace
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. file — a document
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bat — for baseball

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