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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. staff — employees
  3. hand — help
  4. club — a group
  5. season — of the year
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. bore — to drill
  9. court — for sport
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wax — to grow
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. club — for golf
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. field — for sport
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. club — for dancing
  20. staff — employees
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. season — in sport
  24. staff — a stick

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