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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. hand — in cards
  4. root — the cause
  5. field — farmland
  6. pass — a permit
  7. field — for sport
  8. court — for sport
  9. bark — to shout
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bore — to tire

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