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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. shower — rain
  3. field — farmland
  4. scale — in music
  5. drill — army training
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — a price
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. field — for sport
  12. charge — electricity
  13. rash — a series
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. field — a subject
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bound — tied together
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. rash — hasty
  20. scale — size or range
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bound — certain
  23. drill — the tool
  24. lash — an eyelash

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