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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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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: saw · fall · coach · wound · sharp · bore · field · bulb

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wound — an injury
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. field — farmland
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fall — the season
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bulb — for light
  18. field — for sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. sharp — clever
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — a subject
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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