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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  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. bound — certain
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. field — farmland
  4. snap — to click
  5. drill — army training
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. can — a tin
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. file — a tool
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bound — obliged
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. drill — a practice
  22. field — for sport
  23. toast — bread
  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