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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bound — tied together
  5. pit — in a race
  6. field — a subject
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pit — a hole
  9. field — for sport
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. season — in sport
  14. pop — music
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bound — certain
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — farmland
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. season — of the year
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — a thrill

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