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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wake — a trail
  4. field — a subject
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — farmland
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. capital — money
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bore — to drill
  16. sharp — clever
  17. board — a committee
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. field — for sport
  20. board — to get on
  21. capital — a city
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. court — of a king

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