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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 120 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hand — help
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. field — a subject
  8. row — a line
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. row — to paddle
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rock — a stone
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. board — to get on
  20. field — for sport
  21. hand — in cards
  22. field — farmland
  23. wake — a trail
  24. rock — music

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