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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 124 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mark — a grade
  4. field — farmland
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mark — a trace
  11. rock — music
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. degree — an amount
  15. field — for sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. field — a subject
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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