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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bore — to tire
  5. field — farmland
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bore — to drill
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ground — the earth
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — for sport
  21. object — an aim
  22. object — a thing
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. ground — crushed

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