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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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 — obliged
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. field — for sport
  5. spell — letters
  6. bound — certain
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. field — a subject
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — magic
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — a short time
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bound — tied together
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — music
  22. bass — low music
  23. pop — soda
  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