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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bound — certain
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. present — a gift
  5. field — a subject
  6. present — there
  7. charge — electricity
  8. present — the time now
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. charge — in control
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — music
  15. charge — a price
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — of water
  18. field — farmland
  19. track — to keep track
  20. swing — to play on
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. bound — tied together
  24. swing — in golf

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