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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mark — a grade
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bound — obliged
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bound — certain
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. field — farmland
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. field — for sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. field — a subject

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