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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. ground — crushed
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. kid — child
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. bore — to drill
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. last — final
  23. bore — to tire
  24. nail — on a finger

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