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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. net — for catching
  3. field — a subject
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bore — to drill
  9. present — the time now
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. present — there
  12. lie — to recline
  13. present — a gift
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bore — to tire
  16. content — happy
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. content — the amount
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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