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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: tear · bound · saw · squash · court · lie · mug · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tear — to rip
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. bound — certain
  11. saw — the tool
  12. court — of law
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bound — obliged
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. mug — a face
  17. lie — to recline
  18. mug — a cup
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. mug — to rob
  24. tear — from crying

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