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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. field — for sport
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. field — farmland
  11. wake — a trail
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. field — a subject
  14. court — of a king
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bore — to drill
  24. deal — a big deal

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