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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. fall — the season
  3. ground — a position
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. field — farmland
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bass — the fish
  9. swing — to play on
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bound — certain
  12. ground — the earth
  13. season — of the year
  14. bass — low music
  15. bound — tied together
  16. fall — to drop
  17. field — a subject
  18. season — in sport
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. field — for sport
  21. swing — in golf
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. ground — crushed
  24. swing — music

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