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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 120 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ball — a dance
  5. field — a subject
  6. press — to push
  7. field — farmland
  8. cold — an illness
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — for golf
  11. cold — not warm
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bound — certain
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. field — for sport
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. club — a group
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bound — obliged
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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