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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 120 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pop — music
  4. wake — a trail
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bound — certain
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. present — the time now
  11. file — a document
  12. pop — soda
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. file — a tool
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. present — a gift
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. present — there
  21. file — a line of people
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bound — tied together
  24. prune — to trim

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