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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. track — to keep track
  3. field — farmland
  4. track — a song
  5. bound — certain
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mate — to breed
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. squash — the sport
  15. track — a path
  16. mate — a partner
  17. rash — a series
  18. squash — to crush
  19. rash — hasty
  20. field — a subject
  21. hand — help
  22. chest — a box
  23. bound — tied together
  24. field — for sport

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