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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. field — a subject
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. field — for sport
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — tied together
  13. current — happening now
  14. wound — an injury
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. wound — an injury
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bound — obliged
  19. field — farmland
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. straw — a straw man

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