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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. bore — to tire
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bore — to drill
  5. field — farmland
  6. spring — of water
  7. pop — to visit
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pop — music
  12. shower — to wash
  13. swing — in golf
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pop — soda
  19. field — a subject
  20. rest — what's left
  21. swing — music
  22. spring — the season
  23. rest — a break
  24. field — for sport

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