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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. field — a subject
  3. spring — of water
  4. mug — a face
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mug — a cup
  10. field — farmland
  11. bass — low music
  12. mug — to rob
  13. field — for sport
  14. bore — to tire
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. pitcher — a jug

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