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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. pop — soda
  3. present — there
  4. pop — to visit
  5. present — the time now
  6. field — a subject
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. present — a gift
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bore — to tire
  20. field — for sport
  21. bore — to drill
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. field — farmland

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