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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bat — the animal
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. drill — a practice
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bound — tied together
  8. field — for sport
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. field — farmland
  11. kick — in football
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. hand — in cards
  15. field — a subject
  16. drill — army training
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. hand — help
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chair — a leader
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bound — obliged

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