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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — of water
  4. bound — obliged
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. field — farmland
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bound — tied together
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bound — certain
  18. bowl — a dish

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