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

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. bound — certain
  3. field — a subject
  4. court — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. rule — a law
  7. field — for sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bound — obliged
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spell — magic
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. drill — army training
  14. rule — government
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bound — tied together
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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