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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. season — of the year
  6. rock — music
  7. field — farmland
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rock — a stone
  10. field — a subject
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. field — for sport
  13. bore — to drill
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. shower — rain
  17. drill — army training
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bore — to tire
  22. rash — a series
  23. season — in sport
  24. wake — before a funeral

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