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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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bound — tied together
  3. pop — music
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pop — soda
  6. bound — obliged
  7. file — a document
  8. squash — to crush
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. file — a tool
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. field — farmland
  14. bound — certain
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. field — a subject
  21. pop — to visit
  22. saw — the tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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