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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. field — a subject
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bound — certain
  6. squash — the sport
  7. staff — a stick
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. fall — the season
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pop — to visit
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. staff — employees
  17. squash — to crush
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bound — obliged
  24. staff — employees

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