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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. tear — to rip
  5. field — a subject
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. last — final
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — for sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cell — a phone
  14. land — ground
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — finally
  19. bore — to tire
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. pound — a weight

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