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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 116 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. saw — the tool
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. scale — in music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. field — for sport
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fine — high quality
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fine — all right
  23. field — farmland
  24. straw — a straw man

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