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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. bound — obliged
  5. suit — to fit
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. bound — tied together
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. field — for sport
  18. spring — a coil
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. suit — clothes
  21. net — in sport
  22. suit — in cards
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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