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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. race — humankind
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bound — obliged
  6. pitch — completely
  7. saw — the tool
  8. key — for a lock
  9. content — happy
  10. bound — tied together
  11. key — the most important part
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. game — a match
  16. key — in music
  17. march — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. race — a contest
  21. game — wild animals
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — the tool
  24. march — the month

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