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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. staff — employees
  4. swing — to play on
  5. staff — a stick
  6. field — a subject
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. staff — employees
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bound — certain
  18. swing — music

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