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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bore — to drill
  4. wind — moving air
  5. court — for sport
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — tied together
  20. court — of a king
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. court — of law

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