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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 120 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 is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. can — a tin
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bound — tied together
  7. club — a group
  8. bound — obliged
  9. current — of water
  10. field — a subject
  11. bound — certain
  12. can — a tin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. scale — in music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. field — farmland
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. scale — size or range
  22. can — to be able to
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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