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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. club — for golf
  5. bound — obliged
  6. snap — to click
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bound — tied together
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bound — certain
  11. net — in sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. shower — rain
  14. net — for catching
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. field — for sport
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pound — a weight
  20. net — after costs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. club — a group
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. field — a subject

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