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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. row — a line
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. shower — to wash
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. file — a line of people
  9. season — of the year
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. fine — all right
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bound — obliged
  20. fine — high quality
  21. season — in sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bound — certain

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