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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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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: field · wind · pop · jam · bound · mate · dip · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. mate — to breed
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. field — for sport
  7. pop — music
  8. field — a subject
  9. mate — a friend
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pop — soda
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bound — certain
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bore — to tire
  20. field — farmland
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — to sink

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