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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: foot · mine · bound · court · present · cabinet · wound · field

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bound — tied together
  5. court — of a king
  6. bound — obliged
  7. field — a subject
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — there
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. field — farmland
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. foot — a measure
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. present — the time now
  24. field — for sport

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