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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bore — to tire
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bound — obliged
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. vault — a safe
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. shower — to wash
  15. face — to confront
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bound — certain
  19. file — a document
  20. shower — rain
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bore — to drill
  24. field — for sport

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