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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 124 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — a position
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. field — farmland
  11. present — there
  12. tube — the underground
  13. lie — to recline
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bulb — for light
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. field — a subject
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — for sport
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. present — the time now

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