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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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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: net · bound · trunk · cabinet · spell · wound · pop · field

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. field — for sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. spell — letters
  8. field — farmland
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. net — in sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spell — magic
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — soda
  19. net — for catching
  20. field — a subject
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. net — after costs
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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