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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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 — tied together
  2. rash — hasty
  3. file — a document
  4. bound — certain
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. charge — a price
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wake — a trail
  11. row — a line
  12. shower — to wash
  13. file — a tool
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. shower — rain
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. charge — in control
  20. rash — a series
  21. charge — electricity
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bound — obliged
  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