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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bound — certain
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. face — to confront
  8. field — farmland
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. field — a subject
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. face — to point toward
  20. rash — a series
  21. cell — in biology
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bound — tied together
  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