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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · hide · chip · wave · game · field · cold · drill

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. game — a match
  3. cold — not warm
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bound — certain
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bound — tied together
  15. field — for sport
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cold — an illness
  18. drill — a practice
  19. field — farmland
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. chip — for betting
  22. field — a subject
  23. chip — to eat
  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