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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. chip — to eat
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bound — obliged
  5. chip — for betting
  6. field — a subject
  7. sharp — clever
  8. field — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. prune — to trim
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — tied together
  13. squash — the sport
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. court — of a king
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. court — for sport
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. prune — to trim
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. squash — to crush

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