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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — farmland
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. row — a line
  6. mark — a trace
  7. key — for a lock
  8. branch — a division
  9. game — a match
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. field — for sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mark — a grade
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — in music
  22. bound — tied together
  23. row — to paddle
  24. field — a subject

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