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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: race · bore · row · bound · field · chest · suit · last

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. race — the arms race
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. race — a contest
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. row — to paddle
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. bound — certain
  10. chest — of your body
  11. suit — clothes
  12. row — a line
  13. bore — to drill
  14. race — humankind
  15. field — for sport
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. bound — tied together
  19. chest — a box
  20. suit — to fit
  21. last — final
  22. bound — obliged
  23. suit — in cards
  24. chest — of your body

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