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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. chest — a box
  3. swing — to play on
  4. snap — to click
  5. bore — to tire
  6. rock — music
  7. bore — to drill
  8. rock — a stone
  9. swing — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pit — in a race
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. swing — in golf
  23. field — farmland
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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