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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · perch · wound · field · tube · rest · drill · bass

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bass — low music
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bore — to tire
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. field — farmland
  15. bore — to drill
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tube — a container
  21. field — a subject
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. drill — army training
  24. bass — the instrument

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