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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. field — farmland
  3. file — a tool
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. bore — to tire
  7. field — a subject
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fine — all right
  10. land — to come down
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. field — for sport
  15. hand — help
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — a country
  19. fine — high quality
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. file — a document

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