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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. field — a subject
  3. bore — to drill
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. field — for sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. can — a tin
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. snap — to click
  13. can — a tin
  14. rush — hurry
  15. can — to be able to
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. row — a line
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pound — a weight
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — farmland
  23. mine — for digging
  24. row — to paddle

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