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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. field — for sport
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. club — for dancing
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. key — for a lock
  10. club — for golf
  11. cold — an illness
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. cold — not warm
  14. field — farmland
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bound — tied together
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. club — a group
  23. key — in music
  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