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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. foot — a measure
  8. mine — for digging
  9. field — a subject
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bound — tied together
  12. field — farmland
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. saw — the tool
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bound — obliged
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pound — a weight
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. field — for sport
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. racket — for tennis

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