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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — the most important part
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bound — tied together
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rash — a series
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. key — in music
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rash — hasty

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