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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. march — music
  3. fall — the season
  4. bore — to drill
  5. field — for sport
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. field — farmland
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. game — a match
  15. land — a country
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. fall — to drop
  19. field — a subject
  20. land — ground
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. land — to come down
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fall — to drop

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