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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bound — certain
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mate — to breed
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bound — tied together
  14. roll — a list
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. roll — a cake
  21. rush — hurry
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bound — obliged
  24. game — a match

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