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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bound — obliged
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wax — to grow
  8. chip — to eat
  9. file — a document
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chip — for betting
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. file — a tool
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bound — tied together
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a line of people

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