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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tube — a container
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bore — to drill
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. tube — the underground
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bore — to tire
  11. dip — to sink
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. field — farmland
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. field — for sport
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. nail — for a hammer

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