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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. band — a ring
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. object — a thing
  9. wind — moving air
  10. object — an aim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bound — certain
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. field — farmland
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bound — obliged
  20. object — to protest
  21. bound — tied together
  22. band — a music group
  23. field — for sport
  24. bowl — a football final

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