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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 116 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lean — thin
  8. deal — to handle
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. court — for sport
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. court — of a king
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — a match
  23. court — of law
  24. game — a kind of play

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