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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. field — for sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. squash — to crush
  11. net — for catching
  12. squash — the sport
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — government
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. field — a subject
  21. rule — a law
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bound — tied together
  24. temple — side of the head

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