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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — for sport
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. band — a ring
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. band — a music group
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. fall — to drop
  14. dip — to sink
  15. field — farmland
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. field — a subject
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bound — certain
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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