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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bound — certain
  4. bear — the animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bound — obliged
  8. clip — a video
  9. game — a match
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. charge — electricity
  12. file — a line of people
  13. charge — in control
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bear — the animal
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. file — a document
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. charge — a price
  20. file — a tool
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bound — tied together

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