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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
468
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: squash · swing · bore · game · field · content · chest · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. field — a subject
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bore — to drill
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. field — farmland
  10. swing — to play on
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chest — a box
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. field — for sport
  22. content — the amount
  23. squash — the sport
  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