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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bound — certain
  7. mine — for digging
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. field — a subject
  10. bound — obliged
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — tied together
  13. field — for sport
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed

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