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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. field — for sport
  7. chip — to eat
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wake — a trail
  13. present — there
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. field — a subject
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bass — low music
  19. present — a gift
  20. bound — tied together
  21. present — the time now
  22. chip — for betting
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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