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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. object — to protest
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. field — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. object — a thing
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. lean — thin
  12. bound — obliged
  13. object — an aim
  14. bound — certain
  15. march — the month
  16. field — a subject
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — music
  21. lean — to bend
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. pitcher — a jug

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