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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. field — for sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spring — the season
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wake — a trail
  7. board — a committee
  8. bound — obliged
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mate — to breed
  11. field — farmland
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. mate — a friend
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mate — a partner
  21. spring — a coil
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. field — a subject
  24. spring — of water

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