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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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 — obliged
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bound — tied together
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. field — farmland
  7. rule — government
  8. net — in sport
  9. bound — certain
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. field — for sport
  17. tear — to rip
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. court — of a king
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rule — a law
  23. net — after costs
  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