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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. bore — to tire
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spring — the season
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — of water
  16. rule — government
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. spring — a coil
  19. field — for sport
  20. rule — a law
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. date — on the calendar
  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