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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. drill — a practice
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cell — a phone
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bound — tied together
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. drill — army training
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rash — a series
  18. field — a subject
  19. spring — of water
  20. cell — in biology
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bound — certain
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. spring — the season

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