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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 116 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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. last — to go on
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ball — a dance
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. bound — tied together
  10. spell — a short time
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. file — a line of people
  13. last — finally
  14. wake — a trail
  15. last — final
  16. file — a document
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. file — a tool
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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