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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — obliged
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. ground — the earth
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. ground — a position
  9. chest — of your body
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bound — certain
  12. field — a subject
  13. season — of the year
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. season — in sport
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body

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