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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. ground — crushed
  5. file — a document
  6. drill — a practice
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. saw — the tool
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bound — obliged
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. file — a tool
  19. bound — tied together
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. ground — a position
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. saw — the tool

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