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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bound · last · kid · ball · stick · field · game · cap

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cap — a hat
  4. field — a subject
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. field — farmland
  7. kid — child
  8. field — for sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bound — tied together
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cap — a lid
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bound — certain
  16. last — to go on
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cap — of ice
  20. game — a match
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. game — wild animals
  24. ball — a great time

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