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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: rest · bowl · field · fall · wind · stand · pass · bound

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pass — a permit
  4. rest — a break
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. field — for sport
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — a subject
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fall — the season
  18. field — farmland
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — tied together
  21. stand — to bear
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. fall — to drop

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