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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. saw — the tool
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. field — a subject
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. saw — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. branch — a division
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bore — to drill
  14. ground — crushed
  15. drill — army training
  16. field — for sport
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. ground — a position
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. drill — the tool

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