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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. field — a subject
  3. march — the month
  4. bore — to drill
  5. field — for sport
  6. march — music
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. file — a tool
  16. march — the month
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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