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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. kid — to tease
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a cake
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. field — a subject
  12. kid — child
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. roll — a list
  16. field — farmland
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bore — to drill
  21. land — to come down
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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