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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bear — the animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — farmland
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bear — the animal
  15. field — a subject
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bore — gave birth

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