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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lie — to recline
  4. cell — in biology
  5. drill — the tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — for catching
  12. cell — a phone
  13. drill — army training
  14. net — in sport
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. net — after costs
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. field — for sport
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. field — farmland

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