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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. field — for sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. field — a subject
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. capital — money
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bound — obliged
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fine — all right
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rash — a series
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a grade
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. mark — a trace
  24. field — farmland

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