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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 116 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. march — music
  3. field — farmland
  4. hand — in cards
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lean — to bend
  8. field — a subject
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. field — for sport
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. march — the month
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hand — help
  17. scale — in music
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lean — thin
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bore — to drill
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — the month

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