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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. net — in sport
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bound — certain
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. net — after costs
  12. deal — to handle
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bound — tied together
  15. net — for catching
  16. bark — to shout
  17. capital — a city
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. march — music
  21. capital — money
  22. march — the month
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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