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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. court — of law
  3. scale — size or range
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — the month
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. court — of a king
  10. field — farmland
  11. scale — in music
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. march — music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bore — to tire
  21. field — for sport
  22. court — for sport
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a car

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