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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. field — a subject
  8. toast — bread
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bat — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. land — ground
  15. field — farmland
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bound — obliged
  20. prune — to trim
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. field — for sport
  23. bound — certain
  24. land — to come down

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