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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cell — in biology
  3. field — for sport
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cap — a hat
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cap — of ice
  10. net — in sport
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bound — tied together
  13. net — after costs
  14. season — of the year
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cell — a phone
  19. field — farmland
  20. hand — help
  21. net — for catching
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. cap — a lid

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