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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — farmland
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. wind — moving air
  9. can — to be able to
  10. field — a subject
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. bore — to tire
  14. can — a tin
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. field — for sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a city
  19. land — ground
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. land — a country
  23. current — of water
  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