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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 120 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. file — a tool
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bat — the animal
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. season — of the year
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bound — certain
  17. sharp — clever
  18. season — in sport
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. file — a document
  24. wake — a trail

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