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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — obliged
  4. spring — the season
  5. mark — a trace
  6. land — to come down
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. land — ground
  9. staff — employees
  10. bound — tied together
  11. land — a country
  12. field — a subject
  13. spring — a coil
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mark — a grade
  17. staff — a stick
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bound — certain
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spring — of water

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