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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 116 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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. content — the amount
  3. bound — obliged
  4. field — for sport
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bound — certain
  7. mark — a trace
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — the animal
  10. content — happy
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bound — tied together
  19. rest — a break
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rest — what's left
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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