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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bound — obliged
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. march — the month
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — music
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. season — of the year
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. mine — for digging
  18. file — a tool
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bound — tied together
  21. season — in sport
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. file — a document

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