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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. field — a subject
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. season — of the year
  11. rash — a series
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. root — of a word
  15. field — farmland
  16. scale — in music
  17. bore — to tire
  18. season — in sport
  19. field — for sport
  20. rash — hasty
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — not warm

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