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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. object — an aim
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. object — to protest
  7. wound — an injury
  8. field — for sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. field — farmland
  13. season — in sport
  14. branch — a division
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bound — tied together
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — a weight
  20. field — a subject
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bound — certain
  24. object — a thing

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