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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — for sport
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pitch — completely
  17. field — a subject
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. last — finally
  20. roll — a list
  21. last — final
  22. bound — certain
  23. bear — the animal
  24. last — to go on

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