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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — obliged
  6. march — music
  7. press — a publisher
  8. fine — high quality
  9. last — to go on
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. last — final
  12. file — a document
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — finally
  15. press — to push
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. march — the month
  18. press — newspapers
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a tool
  22. march — the month
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — a penalty

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