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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.

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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 · row · mark · chest · stem · bound · court · field

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bound — obliged
  4. court — of law
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. row — a line
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bound — certain
  9. court — for sport
  10. bore — to tire
  11. row — to paddle
  12. court — of a king
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — a box
  15. field — a subject
  16. bore — to drill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. field — for sport
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bound — tied together
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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