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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. drill — a practice
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. tear — from crying
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bore — to tire
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. spring — the season
  16. bore — to drill
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. board — to get on
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — army training
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. drill — the tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. board — a committee

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