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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bound — certain
  3. drill — army training
  4. row — to paddle
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. track — to keep track
  9. stem — to come from
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — farmland
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. row — a line
  17. field — a subject
  18. bound — tied together
  19. track — a path
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pass — a permit
  23. field — for sport
  24. track — a song

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