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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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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: season · staff · field · fall · pound · tear · stick · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — to rip
  5. staff — employees
  6. season — in sport
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. field — a subject
  9. season — of the year
  10. fall — to drop
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. field — farmland
  13. staff — employees
  14. bound — certain
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. staff — a stick
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. fall — the season
  19. pound — a weight
  20. field — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bound — obliged

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