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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. field — farmland
  7. current — of water
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. bore — to tire
  11. shower — rain
  12. drill — a practice
  13. current — electric
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chest — of your body
  17. field — a subject
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — all right
  20. current — happening now
  21. chest — a box
  22. field — for sport
  23. bore — to drill
  24. drill — army training

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