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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bore — to drill
  8. mate — a partner
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. rest — a break
  14. mate — a friend
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. field — farmland
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. field — for sport
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cell — in biology

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