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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bound — tied together
  5. spring — of water
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. spring — the season
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. track — a path
  12. spring — a coil
  13. field — farmland
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. bound — certain
  22. track — a song
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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