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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spring — a coil
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. field — for sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. field — farmland
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. rest — what's left
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — the season
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rest — a break
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. rest — what's left

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