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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. last — final
  3. net — for catching
  4. bore — to drill
  5. net — after costs
  6. field — for sport
  7. last — to go on
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. march — the month
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. spell — a short time
  15. march — the month
  16. spell — letters
  17. field — farmland
  18. last — finally
  19. spell — magic
  20. net — in sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. march — music
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. present — a gift

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