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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. ball — a dance
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. shower — rain
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stock — shares
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. ball — a great time
  22. field — farmland
  23. stock — goods
  24. pit — in a race

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