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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. pop — soda
  6. fine — all right
  7. field — for sport
  8. hand — help
  9. fine — high quality
  10. field — farmland
  11. bound — tied together
  12. ball — a great time
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pop — music
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. bound — certain
  19. club — for golf
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. field — a subject
  23. cold — an illness
  24. club — for dancing

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