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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wind — moving air
  5. field — for sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mark — a trace
  9. field — farmland
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fall — the season
  13. bound — obliged
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mark — a grade
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. snap — to click
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bound — certain
  23. squash — to crush
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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