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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. field — for sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. field — farmland
  5. can — a tin
  6. net — in sport
  7. bound — obliged
  8. last — final
  9. net — after costs
  10. bore — to tire
  11. can — to be able to
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. can — a tin
  14. bound — certain
  15. net — for catching
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bore — to drill
  18. field — a subject
  19. last — finally
  20. bound — tied together
  21. last — to go on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — to roll

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