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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — the month
  4. cell — in biology
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. rash — a series
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bound — tied together
  14. field — for sport
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. scale — in music
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cell — a phone
  20. field — farmland
  21. scale — size or range
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rest — a break

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