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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. field — farmland
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. last — finally
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. field — a subject
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bore — to drill
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. fall — the season
  22. field — for sport
  23. last — final
  24. fine — high quality

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