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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bore — to tire
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. field — farmland
  14. kick — in football
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bore — to drill
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bore — gave birth

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