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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bound — obliged
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. field — a subject
  8. pit — in a race
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cell — a phone
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — farmland
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bound — certain
  21. cell — in biology
  22. file — a line of people
  23. drill — army training
  24. bound — tied together

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