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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. fine — all right
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. field — farmland
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. tube — a container
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fine — high quality
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. bore — to drill
  20. scale — size or range
  21. field — for sport
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. scale — in music
  24. bark — to shout

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