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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rest — a break
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. net — in sport
  9. drill — the tool
  10. field — farmland
  11. spell — magic
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. rush — hurry
  14. field — a subject
  15. drill — army training
  16. field — for sport
  17. bore — to drill
  18. drill — a practice
  19. net — after costs
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. net — for catching
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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