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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. field — for sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bound — certain
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. field — farmland
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bound — obliged
  10. charge — a price
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. field — a subject
  14. root — of a word
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. root — of a plant
  19. charge — in control
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cold — an illness
  22. root — the cause
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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