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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. bound — tied together
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cell — a phone
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. capital — a city
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. board — a committee
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bound — certain
  14. band — a music group
  15. board — to get on
  16. capital — money
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fine — high quality
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pass — a permit
  21. band — a ring
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bound — obliged
  24. snap — to click

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