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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. field — a subject
  5. ball — a dance
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fine — high quality
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bore — to drill
  14. swing — music
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. field — farmland
  22. shower — rain
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — all right

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