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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: net · chest · fall · dip · bound · jam · mine · field

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. net — for catching
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — in sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — obliged
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chest — a box
  11. bound — certain
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fall — the season
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. field — farmland
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. field — for sport
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. net — after costs
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. jam — a tight spot

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