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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: fall · mate · rest · hand · field · bound · mouse · ball

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — help
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bound — certain
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. field — for sport
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. fall — the season
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — farmland
  24. fall — to drop

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