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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 124 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. board — to get on
  3. field — a subject
  4. rule — government
  5. field — farmland
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — for sport
  13. rest — a break
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rule — a law
  17. race — humankind
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bat — the animal
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. board — a committee
  24. bat — in an idiom

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