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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bound — tied together
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bound — obliged
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. field — farmland
  9. bank — for money
  10. field — a subject
  11. bound — certain
  12. ground — the earth
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bank — of a river
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bank — for money
  20. ground — a position
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. scale — in music
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. straw — a straw man

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