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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. drill — the tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bear — the animal
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — for sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. field — a subject
  19. kid — child
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bore — to tire
  23. date — the fruit
  24. kid — to tease

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