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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. kick — in football
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bat — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. root — of a plant
  14. field — farmland
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. root — of a word
  19. bound — obliged
  20. saw — the tool
  21. root — the cause
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bound — certain
  24. pitcher — a jug

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