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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a line of people
  6. spring — of water
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spring — a coil
  9. land — a country
  10. file — a tool
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bound — tied together
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bound — certain
  17. spring — the season
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. land — ground
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. wake — a trail
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. racket — for tennis

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