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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. lean — thin
  3. spring — the season
  4. field — farmland
  5. can — a tin
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bound — obliged
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. game — a match
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. lean — to bend
  12. band — a music group
  13. can — a tin
  14. bass — the fish
  15. field — for sport
  16. spring — of water
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bound — certain
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. band — a ring
  21. field — a subject
  22. spring — a coil
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bass — low music

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