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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bore — to drill
  3. spring — the season
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — for sport
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bore — to tire
  12. spring — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. hide — animal skin

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