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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stand — to bear
  4. field — a subject
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. race — a contest
  11. stock — shares
  12. race — the arms race
  13. land — a country
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. field — farmland
  17. race — humankind
  18. field — for sport
  19. kick — in football
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. stock — goods
  23. bat — the animal
  24. land — to come down

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