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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. bound — obliged
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bound — certain
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wake — a trail
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. toast — bread
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spell — magic
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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