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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  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. bound — certain
  2. march — the month
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. roll — a list
  9. mark — a trace
  10. march — music
  11. mark — a grade
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bound — obliged
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. file — a tool
  16. game — a match
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bound — tied together
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bear — the animal
  22. march — the month
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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