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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — obliged
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. march — music
  8. land — a country
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cell — a phone
  11. season — of the year
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cell — in biology
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. file — a tool
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. land — ground
  21. march — the month
  22. land — to come down
  23. bound — certain
  24. file — a document

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