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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. field — a subject
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bore — to drill
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — for sport
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. field — farmland
  14. face — part of the head
  15. clip — a video
  16. deal — to handle
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — to confront
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. clip — to cut
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — an agreement

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