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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. squash — to crush
  3. field — farmland
  4. bound — certain
  5. wind — moving air
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. track — a song
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. field — a subject
  11. wind — moving air
  12. field — for sport
  13. object — a thing
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bound — obliged
  16. current — happening now
  17. squash — the sport
  18. current — electric
  19. object — to protest
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. track — a path
  22. current — of water
  23. bound — tied together
  24. track — to keep track

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