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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. field — farmland
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. object — a thing
  6. bound — tied together
  7. net — after costs
  8. field — a subject
  9. net — in sport
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. ball — a great time
  16. degree — from a university
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. net — for catching
  21. bound — obliged
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. field — for sport

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