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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kid — child
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. capital — a city
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fall — to drop
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. fall — the season
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — farmland
  24. capital — a big letter

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