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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · bound · cell · dip · field · kick

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. 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. field — for sport
  3. dip — to sink
  4. present — there
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bound — tied together
  8. kick — in football
  9. present — a gift
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. field — farmland
  15. bound — certain
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. present — the time now
  18. 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