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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. field — a subject
  3. last — finally
  4. field — for sport
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. staff — employees
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bound — obliged
  9. last — final
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — farmland
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. fork — in a road
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. staff — employees
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. snap — to click
  21. degree — an amount
  22. last — to go on
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. staff — a stick

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