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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. hand — help
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. hand — in cards
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bound — obliged
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. field — a subject
  20. kick — in football
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. field — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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