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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. cell — in biology
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — obliged
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pop — music
  13. bound — tied together
  14. hand — help
  15. bound — certain
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. hand — in cards
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. field — farmland
  20. pop — to visit
  21. foot — a measure
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. pop — soda

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