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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. row — to paddle
  3. bore — to tire
  4. field — a subject
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chest — of your body
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. field — for sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. field — farmland
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bore — to drill
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tear — to rip
  24. jam — in traffic

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