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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 116 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. drill — the tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bound — obliged
  6. field — farmland
  7. pop — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bound — certain
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — to visit
  20. field — a subject
  21. tube — a container
  22. field — for sport
  23. drill — army training
  24. hide — animal skin

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