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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rash — a series
  5. bound — tied together
  6. row — to paddle
  7. press — newspapers
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. field — for sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rock — music
  13. field — farmland
  14. rock — a stone
  15. press — a publisher
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. press — to push
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — hasty
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — certain
  22. row — a line
  23. field — a subject
  24. prune — to trim

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