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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cap — of ice
  3. field — a subject
  4. track — a path
  5. spring — the season
  6. spell — a short time
  7. track — a song
  8. field — for sport
  9. bound — tied together
  10. face — to confront
  11. cap — a lid
  12. track — to keep track
  13. spell — letters
  14. club — for golf
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. spell — magic
  18. field — farmland
  19. cap — a hat
  20. club — a group
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bound — certain
  23. club — for dancing
  24. spring — of water

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