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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. tube — the underground
  7. present — the time now
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. tube — a container
  11. bore — to drill
  12. present — there
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bore — to tire

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