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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 120 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 ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. field — farmland
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bore — to tire
  16. field — for sport
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. plane — a tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. bore — to drill
  24. key — the most important part

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