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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bound — obliged
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. field — farmland
  12. bound — certain
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bore — to drill
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — for sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bound — tied together

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