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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. hand — help
  3. field — a subject
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. swing — music
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bore — to tire
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. bore — to drill
  13. hand — in cards
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — for sport
  16. swing — in golf
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. pound — a weight
  22. mark — a grade
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. field — farmland

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