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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bound — tied together
  3. drill — army training
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. bound — obliged
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a committee
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. field — farmland
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bound — certain
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. pitch — completely
  24. field — a subject

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