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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. stock — shares
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitch — completely
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bore — to tire
  13. field — a subject
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. saw — the tool
  19. foot — a measure
  20. field — for sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stock — goods
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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