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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 120 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. bore — to drill
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. can — a tin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. can — to be able to
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. shower — to wash
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. lean — thin
  21. field — farmland
  22. can — a tin
  23. lean — to bend
  24. bore — to tire

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