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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 120 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. kid — child
  3. rash — a series
  4. field — for sport
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rest — what's left
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bound — obliged
  12. field — farmland
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. kid — to tease
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rest — a break

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