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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. field — farmland
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. current — electric
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. bound — tied together
  16. chest — a box
  17. spring — of water
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. spring — a coil
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. chest — of your body

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