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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. field — for sport
  5. chest — a box
  6. pop — to visit
  7. swing — music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. track — a song
  10. pit — a hole
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. field — farmland
  14. cell — in biology
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pop — music
  17. field — a subject
  18. pop — soda
  19. cell — a phone
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. pit — in a race

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