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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. field — a subject
  3. present — there
  4. field — for sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. stock — shares
  10. bore — to tire
  11. stock — goods
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. present — a gift
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. can — a tin
  20. spell — a short time
  21. field — farmland
  22. present — the time now
  23. bore — to drill
  24. can — to be able to

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