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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 124 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bound — obliged
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — a subject
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — a line
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. field — for sport
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. spring — the season
  15. bound — certain
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cue — for pool
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — farmland
  21. spring — a coil
  22. date — the fruit
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cue — a signal

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