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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. court — of law
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. bound — obliged
  8. file — a tool
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. field — farmland
  13. mate — a friend
  14. file — a document
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pound — a weight
  19. dip — to sink
  20. prune — to trim
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. file — a line of people

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