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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. court — for sport
  3. field — for sport
  4. bound — certain
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. field — farmland
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pass — a permit
  9. last — final
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. saw — the tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. bound — tied together
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. field — a subject
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. court — of law
  24. bound — obliged

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