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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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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: field · jam · net · deal · tear · wind · hide · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bound — tied together
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. wind — moving air
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. field — farmland
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tear — from crying
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. net — for catching
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bound — obliged
  16. deal — to handle
  17. net — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. field — a subject
  21. tear — to rip
  22. field — for sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. net — after costs

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