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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. field — for sport
  8. march — music
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. field — a subject
  11. bore — to drill
  12. object — an aim
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bore — to tire
  15. object — a thing
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. march — the month
  19. object — to protest
  20. march — the month
  21. kid — child
  22. bear — the animal
  23. field — farmland
  24. bear — the animal

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