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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bound — certain
  6. pitch — completely
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. file — a document
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — finally
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. rock — music
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rock — a stone
  22. last — final
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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