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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. suit — in cards
  7. field — farmland
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bank — of a river
  11. field — a subject
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. suit — clothes
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — for sport
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chest — a box
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bank — for money

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