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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bound — certain
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — the time now
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — tied together
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — the underground
  12. field — for sport
  13. mine — for digging
  14. present — there
  15. tube — a container
  16. craft — boats
  17. degree — temperature
  18. field — a subject
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. degree — an amount
  22. field — farmland
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wound — an injury

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