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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. bound — certain
  2. kick — in football
  3. field — a subject
  4. last — final
  5. squash — the sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. spring — the season
  8. last — finally
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. spring — a coil
  12. snap — to click
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. spring — of water
  16. field — farmland
  17. bound — obliged
  18. squash — to crush
  19. last — to go on
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bound — tied together
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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