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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 124 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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. sharp — clever
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. track — a song
  5. roll — a cake
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. file — a line of people
  10. track — to keep track
  11. content — happy
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. content — the amount
  14. bound — tied together
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. file — a document
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bound — obliged
  22. roll — a list
  23. file — a tool
  24. mark — a grade

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