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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. field — for sport
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. pit — a hole
  8. field — a subject
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. field — farmland
  16. ground — a position
  17. bound — tied together
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bound — certain
  21. pit — in a race
  22. ground — the earth
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bat — for baseball

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