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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bore — to drill
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. season — in sport
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. field — farmland
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. pit — in a race
  13. field — a subject
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. deal — to handle
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. field — for sport
  22. bat — the animal
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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