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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cell — a phone
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. stock — goods
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pound — a weight
  8. race — a contest
  9. field — farmland
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bound — obliged
  12. field — for sport
  13. face — to confront
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. race — humankind
  17. field — a subject
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bound — tied together
  20. saw — the tool
  21. face — to point toward
  22. saw — the tool
  23. face — part of the head
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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