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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 124 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cue — a signal
  3. current — electric
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cue — for pool
  7. drill — the tool
  8. race — humankind
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. field — for sport
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. field — farmland
  14. race — a contest
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bore — to tire
  17. current — of water
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — child
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. drill — army training
  23. current — happening now
  24. cue — a hint

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