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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bound — tied together
  3. court — for sport
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bound — obliged
  8. drill — a practice
  9. field — a subject
  10. drill — army training
  11. bound — certain
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. deal — to handle
  14. court — of a king
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — of law
  17. field — farmland
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — for sport
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bore — to drill

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