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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. field — a subject
  3. face — to confront
  4. bound — tied together
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bound — certain
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. field — for sport
  9. lean — to bend
  10. field — farmland
  11. pound — a weight
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. face — to point toward
  17. hand — in cards
  18. perch — the fish
  19. hand — help
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. face — part of the head
  23. lean — thin
  24. perch — for a bird

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