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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bore — to drill
  3. swing — music
  4. season — in sport
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rest — a break
  7. bound — obliged
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rest — what's left
  10. season — of the year
  11. swing — to play on
  12. fall — the season
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bound — certain
  15. bore — to tire
  16. roll — a cake
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bound — tied together
  20. cell — in biology
  21. roll — a list
  22. fall — to drop
  23. swing — in golf
  24. roll — on a roll

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