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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. band — a ring
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cell — a phone
  5. band — a music group
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. suit — clothes
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bound — obliged
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. kick — in football
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. suit — in cards
  14. suit — to fit
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. field — farmland
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. field — a subject
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bound — tied together
  22. field — for sport
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bound — certain

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