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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bass — low music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fall — the season
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — farmland
  13. cell — a phone
  14. field — a subject
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bore — to drill
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. field — for sport

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