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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to click
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rash — a series
  12. club — a group
  13. rash — hasty
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bore — to drill
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. sharp — clever
  22. field — farmland
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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