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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. shower — rain
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — tied together
  5. net — for catching
  6. field — for sport
  7. spell — letters
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. shower — to wash
  10. field — farmland
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. net — in sport
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. land — ground
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. land — a country
  19. field — a subject
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. land — to come down
  22. bound — obliged
  23. spell — magic
  24. net — after costs

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