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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: chest · saw · game · bound · firm · field · last · mate

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. chest — a box
  7. firm — steady
  8. last — finally
  9. firm — a company
  10. bound — tied together
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. last — final
  14. firm — decided
  15. field — for sport
  16. mate — a friend
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bound — certain
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. saw — the tool
  24. last — to go on

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