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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. bound — obliged
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bound — tied together
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pop — music
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bound — certain
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. field — for sport
  18. lean — thin
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. pop — soda
  21. capital — a city
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. capital — money
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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