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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pop — music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bound — tied together
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pop — to visit
  9. face — to point toward
  10. file — a document
  11. bound — certain
  12. face — to confront
  13. pop — soda
  14. file — a tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. file — a line of people
  17. race — a contest
  18. scale — in music
  19. face — part of the head
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fine — high quality
  23. bound — obliged
  24. race — humankind

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