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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. current — electric
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. game — wild animals
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. current — of water
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bound — tied together
  13. field — for sport
  14. foot — a measure
  15. field — farmland
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. current — happening now
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — a subject
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bound — obliged
  22. squash — to crush
  23. game — a match
  24. cold — an illness

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