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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. net — after costs
  3. press — to push
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. bound — certain
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bank — for money
  9. degree — temperature
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. net — for catching
  13. pound — a weight
  14. field — farmland
  15. ball — a great time
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bank — for money
  19. net — in sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bank — of a river
  22. ball — a dance
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pound — for dogs

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