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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bound — tied together
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. field — for sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bound — obliged
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — a practice
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wind — moving air
  18. squash — the sport
  19. branch — a division
  20. capital — a city
  21. field — farmland
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — a subject
  24. bound — certain

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