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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 120 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mark — a trace
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rock — a stone
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spring — of water
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. spring — the season
  16. mark — a grade
  17. season — in sport
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — a coil
  20. season — of the year
  21. field — farmland
  22. bound — tied together
  23. rock — music
  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