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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. field — a subject
  3. season — in sport
  4. field — for sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. kick — in football
  10. rest — a break
  11. drill — army training
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bound — tied together
  14. rest — what's left
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bound — certain
  17. rest — what's left
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. drill — the tool
  20. field — farmland
  21. scale — in music
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bound — obliged

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