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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. present — the time now
  3. key — for a lock
  4. field — farmland
  5. spell — a short time
  6. march — the month
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. field — for sport
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. present — a gift
  12. spell — magic
  13. key — the most important part
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. present — there
  17. field — a subject
  18. bound — tied together
  19. march — music
  20. key — in music
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — letters
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bound — certain

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