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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bound — tied together
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. face — part of the head
  6. last — to go on
  7. lean — to bend
  8. face — to confront
  9. lean — thin
  10. wax — to grow
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. field — a subject
  13. bound — certain
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — finally
  18. field — farmland
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rash — a series
  21. last — final
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. field — for sport

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