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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. swing — music
  3. rule — government
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bound — certain
  8. field — a subject
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. net — after costs
  11. field — farmland
  12. swing — in golf
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bound — tied together
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rule — a law
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — for sport
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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