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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. craft — boats
  3. fine — all right
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — a coil
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. spring — the season
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bound — certain
  12. spring — of water
  13. field — a subject
  14. rule — a law
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. craft — a skill
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. dip — to sink
  20. band — a music group
  21. bound — tied together
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rule — government
  24. band — a ring

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